Not If I See You First
by skelterhelter
Summary: What if it didn't end like the movie did? Would they still have drifted apart? Read how life unfolds for the four boys, see everything from junior high, to fights with the Cobras, and perhaps growing apart.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Early afternoon was just settling in as Gordie La Chance headed down the path that would eventually lead him home. Lawn mowers whined a steady drone, bringing up the scent of daffodils to cling in the summer air. Neighbors flashed him polite smiles as he passed by their homes, getting ready to start their day.

Everything in Castle Rock seemed normal, even though Gordie felt as if he'd gone through a world of change overnight. He and three of his friends had just seen a dead body, a kid named Ray Brower that'd been knocked clear out of his Keds by an oncoming train…how does someone un-see something like that? Gordie La Chance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Du Champ, and Vern Tessio had set out to be stars, but instead came home with stories they'd rather not talk about.

"Hey, Gordie…start school tomorrow?" Startled, he broke out of his reverie to see his neighbor, Mr. Griffith staring at him as he clipped away at his hedges.

"Oh…yeah," he said, even though school was the farthest thing from his mind. Mr. Griffith smiled, revealing his nicotine stained teeth and resumed his yard work. Gordie took this as his cue to cut across the lawn and up the porch steps to his house.

He saw his mother preparing lunch at the Formica counter top, her fingers methodically rolling pieces of ham to be placed on white bread. Already, his mind was conjuring up tales of how much fun he'd had camping the night before, how they'd stayed up late and told ghost stories by firelight. Of course, none of that was true. The only ghost they'd seen last night was that of Ray Brower, and that would be haunting them for quite some time.

"Hi, Mom," he greeted her quietly. He hovered by the doorway and waited for her to turn around, but her knife was now busy in the mayonnaise jar. Swish, swish, back and forth on stale bread, and he was almost sure she didn't hear him. Invisible boy strikes again.

"Gordie, I've got lunch for you," she replied, almost startling him. "I'm going down to the store to pick up some school supplies." She finally turned around, tossing him a look as if his education was an inconvenience in her life (Hell, if it were up to him, he'd be reading comics all day).

"Your clothes for tomorrow are on your bed…please wash up, ok?" she reminded him, eyeing his dirt-stained jeans. She grabbed her purse and car keys, and her dress grazed Gordie's leg as she passed by.

"Thanks," he muttered, only to be answered by a slamming door and the sound of her heels slapping on each step down to the driveway. He grabbed his sandwich, suddenly ravenous. He stood in the kitchen for a moment, chewing and listening to the sounds of the house; the clock was ticking in the foyer and the refrigerator hummed quietly.

Once again, left alone in an empty house and nothing had changed.

Chris Chambers was hardly in the door when he felt a fierce tug on the neck of his shirt dragging him in to the living room. The familiar stench of tobacco and peppermint aftershave warned him that his father was awake and angry.

"Where were you, boy?" his father demanded, shoving him against the wall. "Your chores weren't done and I wake up to see you and your goddamned brother gone. Just wait 'til he gets home…I'll tear his hide!" His father's eyes were sharp like flinty steel.

"I-I told you I was camping out with the guys. Remember?" Chris tried to be tough, to keep the shake out of his voice. 'I can take him,' he reminded himself. After last night, Chris reckoned himself to be a little bit stronger.

"I don't remember such a thing."

"That's 'cause you were drunk," Chris muttered, knowing such words were good cause for a punch in the face. Either his dad didn't hear him or he was still a bit sauced (Chris put good money on the latter), but he merely glowered at him and shuffled off to his favorite spot—the tattered recliner near the alcohol cabinet.

Chris heard whiskey being poured in to a tumbler a moment later, and he breathed a sigh of relief. After a few more of those, all of this would be forgotten. He clutched his overnight bag tightly against his hip and made his way upstairs.

"Lawn better be mowed by 3 o'clock or you ain't getting supper for two days!" his Dad called, getting in his last words.

Chris flipped him the finger in the darkness of the stairway and ran to the safety of his room. He wasn't too worried about his father, in all due honesty—when his brother Eyeball got home, there would be hell to pay for causing he and his friends unnecessary trouble down at Back Harlow Road.

"Wake up, asshole."

Chris groaned, his sleep-encrusted eyes adjusting to the white morning light seeping in through his open curtains. His older brother Eyeball (whose real name was Richard, but everyone called him Eyeball because of his screwed up eye. It sounded more tough than Richard, anyway) shoved his shoulder hard and yanked the blanket off of him. Chris' eyes shot open, and he saw his brother standing there, a scowl and a cigarette etched on his lips. He was still wearing clothes from yesterday, eyes red-rimmed from a night of carousing with the Cobras, the local hoods.

"God, Eyeball, just give me a minute, ok?"

"You're lucky I don't burn your ass with this cigarette…what were you and those punks doing on Back Harlow Road, any how? If Dad only knew what you were up to…"

"And you're not going to tell him, right?" Chris threatened in his quiet tone. "I'm sure he won't be too happy to know you and Ace took a stolen car out joyriding, would he?" For just an instant, a look of fear flickered through his brother's eyes, and Chris lapped up the satisfaction of beating his brother at his own game.

"Get up…school starts in half an hour," he muttered.

Chris sneered at him, grabbing the cleanest shirt he could find off the floor and clothed his bare chest with it. Before Eyeball could head downstairs, however, he poked his head in to the door.

"Hey, Chris, you might've gotten one over on me, but don't think Ace is gonna let you off so easy. He's pretty pissed about losing that dead body, little bro." He smiled, his usual greasy self back in action. "See you later!"

Chris didn't dwell on it too much as he continued getting ready for his first day of school, but the thought of how close the high school (the school Ace and his fellow hoods went to) was to Castle Rock Junior High was ever present in the back of his mind. Before he left the room, he quickly grabbed the switchblade he kept hidden underneath a stack of comics in his drawer…just in case.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Everyone knew when Teddy Du Champ was around—he liked to announce his presence by singing as loudly as possible, which is what he did that very Monday morning as he walked towards the corner of Baker and Huntington, where Chris and Gordie were waiting in their clean school clothes. He was decked out in dog tags and camouflage pants; his friends knew Teddy liked to pretend he was storming the beach at Normandy, like his dear ol' Dad had done before he'd gone crazy and was sent up to Togas Mental Institution. The genes of insanity must've trickled down to Mr. Du Champ's only son, but his friends were rather used to it by now.

"Why you guys all dressed up?" he demanded as he came closer. "It's not like you guys are getting any more pussy just by wearing your church clothes!" He whooped out his infamous Du Champ laugh, perhaps another trait passed down by his father. Gordie reckoned it sounded like a walrus in heat. "Oh, here comes Vern-o, late as always."

Vern Tessio was shuffling up the street, trying to pull up the pants that his Mother had obviously picked out for him that morning, the sound of loose pennies jingling in his pockets. He was out of breath, his cheeks puffing in and out in exhaustion from his two-minute walk.

"Sorry, guys…I spent about fifteen minutes looking for my comb, but I remembered I didn't have it," he explained as they started walking towards the junior high.

Chris and Gordie looked at each other, rolling their eyes and smirking. Vern would never let them live down the fact that his precious hair comb had been dropped between the train tracks while searching for the body of Ray Brower. If there was anything more important in Vern's life than food and Saturday morning cartoons, it was definitely that damned comb.

"Hey, do you think the cops got to the body by now?" Vern asked in a hushed tone. "I mean, I didn't see it in any of the papers yet, so I figured not. Boy, my brother was real pissed this morning…told me I was going to get beat up by Ace any day now."

"Don't listen to that asshole," Chris interjected. "He can't touch us or his ass will be in jail so fast. Man, I have so much shit I can screw him with, mainly that stolen car he took to Back Harlow. I hate that fucker."

"Yeah, don't get your underoos in a twist, Vern-O," said Teddy.

They continued walking on, the presence of Ray Brower lingering between them, but no one wanted to acknowledge it. It was as if that day had never happened, like it was an imaginary adventure they'd taken in their own minds. Gordie had had nightmares about Ray last night, images of his lifeless eyes staring up at him from that pile of brush. He wondered if the others had experienced the same thing, but was too chicken shit to ask.

"So, what did your old man say about you camping out?" Chris asked Gordie as they walked side by side.

"Eh, nothing really…I doubt he even noticed I was gone. What about you?"

"Too drunk to do anything about it," he replied and they both snickered.

Castle Rock Junior High loomed even closer, and the idea that they were starting school as men was even more daunting. Throngs of students bustled in to the school, some being dropped off by buses. The school, which was a tiny, rundown claptrap structure (probably the biggest building in a place like Castle Rock, which was nothing short of pathetic), somehow intimidated them. It was a new year in a new school, and they knew things would be slightly different, as much as they tried to deny it.

"So…see you guys in woodshop?" Vern asked. Gordie couldn't help but feel left out as his friend's eyes were only trained on Teddy and Chris. He would be parting ways with his friends, off to compose sonnets with the other English geeks. His mouth curled in anger and regret.

"Yeah…see you later, Gordie."

"Yeah, see ya."

On the other side of town, Ace Merrill was carefully polishing the wheel of his prized stolen car, a greasy rag whipping over silver. The rest of his cronies, all part of a group called the Cobras, were loitering on the grass, engaged in a game of cards as they smoked cigarettes.

Ace was not much for school—he usually showed up for roll call, then left just as nonchalantly as he came. Of course, the rest of the guys were only too happy to join him. Guys such as the Cobras didn't have much need for an education anyway…everything they needed to know, such as lifting cars and stereos, was already ingrained inside of them. Besides, hoods never had much of a chance to move up in the world, so why bother trying?

"I heard on the radio this morning that the cops took the body away," Billy Tessio piped in over his deck of cards. "Guess we'll never be famous, huh guys?"

Charlie took a sip of the Jack Daniels he kept concealed in his coat, wiping his mouth sloppily afterwards. "Yeah, all 'cause of your brother and his friends," he quipped.

"I told Chris he wasn't getting away with it," Eyeball mumbled. "Fucker didn't believe me."

Ace finally turned around, the rag hanging loosely from his hand. He chewed on a toothpick slowly, thoughtfully. "So, he thinks he's in the clear, huh?"

"Well, uh, I made sure he knew you were still pissed with him…you know, tried to get him scared shitless. He was talking a big game this morning, but I stopped all that," Eyeball explained. Ace transferred the toothpick to the other side of his mouth, his eyes glazing over. When he spoke again, his voice was calm and controlled. Ace never had to scream to get his point across.

"Eyeball, I don't fuck around with my words. You know better than that." He stepped closer, his boots making prints in the dirt. The Cobras had their eyes trained on him, abandoning their card game and whiskey long ago. "When I said this was big time shit, I meant it. I don't like little twelve year old punks waving guns in my face and making me look like a fool."

"Don't worry, Ace," Eyeball interjected. "I can beat him up, knock him around real good to make sure he won't ever do that again. I'll get his friends too…hell, they're over my house all the time."

Ace smiled and spit the toothpick out on Eyeball's feet, never taking his eyes off his friend.

"Eyeball, you're a pal…but I think I can handle this. Now, let's see what's going on at the good ol' junior high, huh?"

Everyone stared at him, no sure who should make the first move to get in to the car. Eyeball rushed up to Ace, his lip trembling with slight trepidation.

"Hey, Ace, maybe"-

Ace merely held the driver's side door open.

"Get in".

That was all he needed to say, and the cards were left in the dust as they piled in to the car and headed in the direction of Castle Rock Junior High.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Sorry, guys, I had anonymous reviews disabled. They're now enabled! Thanks to Doc's Cowboy for pointing that out to me…enjoy the story!**

Chapter Three

"Hey Vern, look what I made!"

The moment he turned around, Vern knew he'd made a mistake. His cheek was met with a wooden paddle, followed by the roar of Teddy's laughter.

"Oh, man, you fall for that every time!" he howled. He twirled his poorly made paddle between his fingers, proud of himself for a joke that was getting pretty old by now.

Vern's cheeks flushed crimson. "You know, one day I'm going to get you back and you won't even know what to do!"

"Empty threats, bud, empty threats," sang Teddy, going back to his work. Machines buzzed and whirred all around them as students in goggles (well, except for Teddy, who claimed even Mighty Mouse himself couldn't knock his glasses off) tried to keep their fingers intact. Mr. Finnegan, their woodshop instructor, kept his legs propped up on the desk, occasionally barking out, "Watch it, watch it," when a student's hand got too close to being sawed off. Most likely, though, he kept his face buried in the newspaper.

"Man, I wonder what Gordie is up to…can you just imagine the guys he's hanging around with?" Teddy laughed. Vern didn't answer, still sore over the prank Teddy had just pulled. "I bet he's wearing a beret by now."

"Yeah, well, it's better than being here," Chris muttered, eyes trained on the piece of wood he was shaping with his tools. "Gordie's better than this."

-----

The English Composition class was held upstairs in a stuffy room that had desks arranged in a half circle around the teacher, Mrs. Hadley. A window was cracked open, but the humid, late summer air did little to refresh the students inside.

Mrs. Hadley paced in the center of the circle, her gauzy skirt grazing the linoleum. She had hair the color of honey, which was piled in messy curls on top of her head, and strings of beads hanging from her freckled neck. Gordie had never met anyone like her—she held the aura of a city girl, someone with far too much brains to be in a place like Castle Rock.

"I want you all to think of someone in your life who has had a major impact on you," she was saying softly. "Your next assignment is to write about him or her and show me how this person has affected you."

'Oh, geez, how corny,' he thought. Gordie didn't like to write cheesy, sappy stuff like that—he thought the best stories were ones that scared or shocked the shit out of someone, like the cheap detective novels he bought from Gringo's drugstore with his allowance.

"I hope you all have something written by our next class…remember, it's quality, not quantity. I'd rather have a paragraph filled with something meaningful than 5 pages worth of words that were just used to fill space. See you all tomorrow."

Gordie sighed in relief, grabbing his books. Thank god it was the last class of the day; he didn't know how much longer he could last at this place. He missed the familiarity of elementary school, of classrooms filled with the same old faces and lunch ladies who called you by name as they slapped gray beef stew on your tray.

"Hey Gord-o!"

Through the sea of students, who were bustling to their lockers and getting ready to head out the glass double doors of freedom, Gordie could make out a glimpse of Teddy's black-rimmed glasses through crowd. Chris and Vern were tagging closely behind.

"Oh, Gord-o, oh Gord-o…where art thou, dear Gord-o?" Teddy teased as Gordie came running up to them.

"Shut up, Teddy," Chris chimed in, although a smile was plastered on his face.

"I thinketh the lady doth protest too much," Teddy went on, never quite knowing when enough was enough. Gordie didn't care, though—he was finally going home and had enough change in his pockets for an ice cream soda at Gringo's.

A rush of stale, arid air smacked them in the face as they finally burst outside, beads of sweat forming on their upper lip before they even started walking. Vern suddenly stopped, squinting as he peered out in to the parking lot.

"Hey, Chris, is your brother picking you up or something?"

"No, why?"

"Look!"

Eyeball Chambers leaned against the hood of a car, most likely the one he'd stolen with his group of friends. He looked slightly nervous, hands shoved in to the pockets of his torn black denim jeans. When they approached closer, they could see Charlie and Billy in the backseat, grinning like two Cheshire cats. Ace Merrill was in the passenger seat, shades drawn over his eyes, appearing disinterested.

"Hey, boys!" Charlie called cheerily. "How was school today?" Billy snickered in suit.

Chris ignored him, looking his brother up and down. "What are you doing here?"

Eyeball merely shook his head. "Don't say I didn't tell you, man…I fucking warned you this would happen."

Ace carefully slid out of the car, idling over to them as a soft smile tugged at his lips. Vern hid, using Teddy and Chris as a human shield.

"Howdy, boys," Ace said, pausing to push his sunglasses to the top of his spiky blonde head. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"What do you want?" Gordie asked indignantly. He was growing tired of this shit, almost wishing they'd just beat the fuck out of them and let them be. "Whatever you want, just take it now."

Ace leaned closer, so close that Gordie could smell the cigarettes on his clothes and breath. "A big tough guy, huh La Chance? You don't seem so tough now without your gun now, do ya?"

Gordie could sense Chris stiffen, his hand forming in to a tight fist next to him. "Leave him alone, Merrill."

"And you," Ace said, his gray-green eyes focusing on Chris now, "have a lot of nerve doubting me. Did you really think I'd forget this whole mess, Chambers?"

"Fuck you, man," Chris whispered, his face ghost-white with rage.

"I'll give you a choice, Chambers," Ace went on, his voice raising a slight octave. "You guys give me Gordie real nice and quiet, then I'll let the rest of you go. But you mouth off one more time, my friends and me take all of you shits down, and believe me, you won't make the same mistake twice". He looked at him expectantly. "So, what's it going to be?"

"No way," Chris replied softly, not budging an inch.

"Chris, man, just let him have me," Gordie said, trying to sound as brave as he could muster. "I can fucking take him". Billy and Charlie hooted with laughter in the backseat.

"Gordie, shut up, he's not laying a hand on you," Chris shot back.

"Chris," Eyeball warned, getting ready to come between them, until Ace held a palm against his chest, never blinking.

"Well, you've made your choice then," Ace said, and before he could pull the switchblade out of his pocket, a teacher rushed up to them frantically.

"Hey, hey, what are you punks doing? Do you belong to this school?" he barked. Ace looked at him like he wanted to knife him on the spot, but held his tongue. He slipped his blade slyly back in to his pants.

"No, sir, we were just having a friendly conversation. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"Oh, he's lying! Throw his ass in jail," Teddy protested, suddenly growing balls in the presence of an adult who was there to protect them.

"This kid's crazy!" Ace laughed. "Dad's a nut up in Togas, what do you expect?" Although Ace was laughing, they could see his eyes had taken a sharper edge, bitter at the fact that he'd been stopped by them, not once, but twice now.

"I suggest you boys head off now before I alert the authorities…move it!" the teacher ordered. Ace nodded slowly, his eyes still trained on Chris.

"See you soon, Chris," he said. He made his way reluctantly to the car, and Eyeball too got behind the wheel, never once looking at his brother. They gunned it out of the parking lot, spitting up gravel in their wake.

"You kids get home now…go on," the teacher coaxed, his tone a bit more sympathetic than he'd had with the Cobras.

"We're going, we're going," Teddy exclaimed. They began shuffling off, legs still quaking with nerves, and Gordie was sure he'd hurl right in the bushes. He held his throat tight, trying to save the embarrassment of revealing his lunch to his best friends. Instead, he began talking to try and keep the puke at bay.

"Chris, what the hell…I could've just done it, man," he stammered. "Now we're in even deeper shit than we were before."

"Yeah, but Gordie, he would've killed you," Vern hushed. They paused at the corner where they usually parted ways, staring at one another. No one was quite sure how to make any of this easier.

"Gordie, you know he wasn't going to let any of us go like he said," Chris said quietly, "Ace Merrill never lets anyone forget they've wronged him. And I'm not throwing you out there just to save my ass."

"I could've done it," he insisted, not meeting his friend's eyes.

"Well, I'm not going to let you," Chris snapped. He softened when he saw Gordie's lip tighten in to a straight line of anger, and he offered his palm. "Skin it, man."

Gordie couldn't really stay pissed at Chris—he knew he'd only been looking out for him, just like he always does. "Alright, but next time I'm not holding back, Chris. Ace can't scare us anymore," he said, sliding his palm against his friend's more calloused hand.

Chris smiled. "Ok, deal," he agreed, although he knew deep down he'd never let anyone lay a hand on his friends without putting up a fight. "Now, let's go to Gringo's…I'm fucking thirsty."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Sorry the chapter took so long, guys! It's not quite action-packed yet, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Please leave reviews...it makes this author very happy:)

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Gordie was late for dinner, and was reminded of this fact when he was met by his father's glare over the evening paper. Mrs. La Chance spooned carrots on to a plate, along with a slab of pot roast and mashed potatoes drenched in gravy, and motioned for him to sit down.

"Dinner's nearly over, Gordie, so I suppose you can wash up afterwards."

Gordie began eating silently, wishing mealtime could be a little more enjoyable like it was at Teddy's place. The few times Teddy had invited them over to his house for dinner, it was always fun—Mrs. Du Champ was always working late at Castle Rock diner to make ends meet, so they were left to fend for themselves with TV dinners baked in the oven. They were allowed to eat on the couch in front of the tube instead of being forced to shovel down burnt pot roast and avoiding awkward conversation.

"So, how was your first day at school?" his mother asked. "Any interesting classes so far?"

"English is alright," he replied. Sometimes the less words he spoke, the better. Tonight was different, however.

"You're still doing that writing thing?" his Dad asked, unable to keep the distain from creeping in to his voice. "I hope you realize that I can't afford to send you to college. Can you even get scholarships for writing?"

"I don't know, Dad," he said in a small voice.

His father returned to his paper, but not before muttering the words that cut in to Gordie all too deep. "Too bad you can't get an athletic scholarship like Denny did." The table fell quiet; Gordie's mom cleared her throat, busying herself by wiping crumbs away from the corner of her lip.

Gordie could feel his dead brother's presence sitting next to him, claiming back the adjacent seat, and he could almost smell his cologne thick in his nostrils. Denny used to try and make him smile at dinnertime, especially during heated arguments their parents were having. Sometimes he'd simply give his head a nudge when he least expected it, other times he'd tell dirty jokes he knew Gordie wasn't supposed to hear. Denny always had a way of making him feel special.

"May I be excused?" he asked. His parents didn't even answer him.

---------

After taking his nightly bath, Gordie slipped in to clean shorts and a thermal shirt, preparing to sit at his desk and start the essay for tomorrow's class. _'Who has had a major impact on my life?'_ he pondered as he poised his pen over his notebook.

"Oh shit," he muttered, realizing the only pen he had was out of ink. "Mom! Mom, you got a pen I can use?" he called. He could hear the TV blaring downstairs, intermingled with soft snores from his Dad, who liked to take naps after dinner.

He sighed, getting ready to head downstairs to search for one himself, when his eyes fell on Denny's bedroom across the hall. The door was open just a crack, which most likely meant his mother had been in there again. Sometimes she would just sit at the edge of his bed and cry, other times it would be to re-arrange his knick-knacks in a certain way, a way she thought Denny would appreciate if he were watching over.

His hand grazed the door, and before he knew it, he was inside. The room appeared as un-touched as it was the fateful night Denny was killed in the car accident last spring—his sports trophies and awards gleamed from wooden shelves, and his bed was untidy like he'd just rolled out of it.

Gordie felt the familiar tightening of his chest and throat as he stepped closer to Denny's dresser. He never knew why he came in here. The last time he'd set foot in this room was the day he set out to see Ray Brower, and had spent the rest of the day under a cloud of depression. Maybe he had to be reminded of the fact that Denny had indeed once lived here, that he'd had a brother that cared for him and loved him, unlike his parents that just wanted him to disappear. Maybe he half-expected Denny to be sitting there, coal colored eyes glowing with warmth, ready to share stories about how his day had been at school. Denny never had talked down to him—he'd tell him everything he knew about girls and teachers at high school, and most of all, how to deal with their parents.

Gordie spied a silver-framed photograph perched on Denny's dresser, taken a few weeks before he'd died. It was the day of the spring formal at Castle Rock High; Denny was dressed in his best suit, his black hair slicked back with pomade as he held tight to his girlfriend Jane's delicate shoulders. Gordie ran one of his fingers over the glass, wiping dust away from Denny's face.

_'I wish you were here, man,'_ he thought wistfully. He quickly grabbed a pen that he saw sitting on Denny's desk, and left before his emotions could consume him. Suddenly, he knew just who he would write his essay about.

---------

"Christopher, you going to bed?"

Chris quickly shoved the nudie magazine he'd been looking at under his pillow, and looked up at his mother, who was dressed in her pink terry cloth robe, feet clothed in matching pink slippers. Mrs. Chambers was a delicate woman who had Chris' eyes and kittenish nose—one might describe her as meek, which was a perfect fit for a domineering asshole such as Mr. Chambers.

"Yeah, Mom, don't worry about me…I'm going to bed soon."

She smiled, the Crow's feet around her eyes deepening. "Good, you know your father doesn't like the idea of you staying up on a school night. I only wish your brother would get home so he could do his school work." Mrs. Chambers had the idea in her head that her beloved Richard was actually a good kid, despite his well-known bad boy reputation.

"He'll be home any minute," Chris lied, knowing very well 'any minute' in Eyeball's world meant when the sun came up and the booze had run out.

"Ok, honey…goodnight."

"Night, Mom."

--------------

Ace took a final swig of his beer, and then nonchalantly tossed it to the ground, leaving it shattered in a pile of brown shards in the lot at Irby's Billiards. The alcohol was creeping up on him, bringing a warm flush to his cheeks and in his gut.

Billy, Eyeball, Charlie, and a few others rushed out of the bar and in to the night air, leaving behind the arid smoke and loud rock n' roll music that piped out of Irby's.

"So, where to now?" Billy asked. "I swear, the amount of pussy in this town just gets lower and lower every day. Why ain't there any chicks out?"

"What, you didn't like that 40 year old bar hag with no teeth in there?" Vince laughed. "It looked like she was pretty sweet on you." He leaned in towards Billy, making sloppy kissing noises with his lips.

"Fuck off," Billy grumbled, pushing him away. "Come on, where we going, guys? If we're just gonna stand here and freeze our balls off, I'm heading home."

Ace lit a cigarette, the tip of it glowing orange in the velvet moonlight. "Why don't we head on down to Eyeball's house, have a little chat with that brother of his?" he slurred. Ace obviously hadn't forgotten about the incidence that happened earlier this afternoon, and the beer brewing inside of him had now stirred his rage.

"Ace, c'mon, forget it," Eyeball said quietly. "I told you I'd get him for you…there's no sense in you getting worked up over it."

"Not gettin' worked up…just settling a little unpaid debt, is all," Ace laughed bitterly. He looked Eyeball square in the eye, challenging him. "Don't worry, Eyeball…I may not get him back tonight, or even tomorrow. But those fuckers will be sorry soon enough."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Sorry the delay with this chapter, guys! Life has been hectic lately due to college and family stuff…my chapters might be spaced further apart for now…hope you enjoy it anyway:) 

**Chapter Five**

"Mr. La Chance, can I speak to you for a minute?"

Gordie paused mid-step, a flutter of anxiety passing through his body as he heard his teacher Mrs. Hadley call his name at the end of class. He cleared his throat nervously, but was surprised to see her smiling up at him.

"Don't be nervous…I actually called you over to praise you on your story. I thought it was very good."

"Really?" Gordie couldn't help a small smile from tugging at his lips and he could feel his heart soaring. "Thanks!"

She chuckled and crossed her legs at the ankle, studying him intently. "I'm really sorry about your loss, Gordie…your brother sounded like an amazing person. I think he'd be very touched to know you wrote such a beautiful piece about him."

Gordie didn't know what to say. It wasn't every day someone noticed his writing, much less thought of it as a touching work of art. He mumbled his thanks again to avoid sounding like a moron.

"I'd love to see more of your stories," she went on. "Have a nice day, Gordie…see you in class tomorrow."

He walked out of there with a new spring in his step, a smile emblazoned on his face. He didn't know being complimented on an essay could feel so good. He was so lost in his euphoria, he barely noticed the girl staring at him as he rustled through his locker.

"My, you're cheery."

"What?" He jumped, his books crashing to the floor. A flush of embarrassment danced across his cheeks, and he looked up to see an auburn-haired girl dressed in a pleated skirt and navy blazer grinning at him. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place her name or where he'd seen her.

"You look like you just won the lottery, is all," she laughed. "You're in my English class with Mrs. Hadley, aren't you? I think your name is Gordie? I see you sitting there in a daze most of the time."

_'Oh god, am I that obvious?'_ he wondered. Damn, what was this girl doing staring at him anyway? Didn't she have anything better to do?

"I'm Sara," she introduced, holding out a hand for him to shake. He looked down at it like it was made of thorns, causing her to giggle at his reaction.

"You're weird…but I guess everyone is," she said with a shrug. "See you tomorrow."

He watched her walk down the corridor, and through the double doors to catch her bus home. Something about the way she'd called him weird made him smile. It seemed familiar somehow.

"See ya," he mumbled. He quickly grabbed his books from the floor and made his way outside to meet up with the guys at Gringo's.

------

Gringo's was a popular drugstore right in the heart of downtown Castle Rock, a place where you could get a tall cup of fountain soda for a dime and browse their selection of books and magazines until Mr. Gringo kicked you out. There was a counter towards the rear of the store where Mrs. Gringo doled out prescription medication while keeping her hawk eyes trained on anyone hocking merchandise, which was just what Teddy was trying to do as Gordie approached.

"What are you doing?" Gordie asked with a smile, noticing Teddy slipping a few condoms in to his pocket. Teddy swiveled around, glasses nearly coming off his head as he gaped at Gordie.

"Fuck, don't scare me like that…I thought you were that old lady," he snapped, adjusting his glasses.

"What do you need condoms for anyway?" Gordie laughed. "Is there something we don't know about?" He shook his head and began eyeing all the magazines he loved, wishing he had an extra few dollars in his pocket.

"Just you wait and see, Gordie…I'll be getting all the junior high tail in school, while you're busy jerkin' it to some Playboy magazines. Then we'll see who's laughing."

"Whatever…where's Chris and Vern?"

Teddy motioned towards the back of the store. "Getting some sodas…hey, go over there and get me an orange one, ok?" He tossed him a dime.

Gordie headed over to the soda jerk, whistling. Today was shaping up to be a good day; he'd gotten complimented on his writing, and now he was spending a whole afternoon with his best friends, no aim or plans, just an intent to have a good time.

Chris and Vern were seated at the counter, both guzzling down grape sodas. Mr. Gringo's brother Al operated the fountain, and he quickly dropped what he was doing to place Gordie's order.

"Two large sodas, please…one orange, one cherry," he said, taking a seat near his friends. Chris smiled up at him.

"That'll be twenty cents, kid," Al said, taking the coins from Gordie's outstretched hand and handing him two full glasses of fizzy soda.

"Hey, Teddy, get your ass over here!" Chris called. They could hear him grumbling all the way to the counter, annoyed that he'd been interrupted during his petty theft.

"Guys, I almost had that new Playboy issue," he hissed.

"I thought you didn't need it," Gordie teased. "You know, since you're getting all that junior high tail and all."

Teddy sipped on his soda thoughtfully, leaving a mustache of bubbles behind on his upper lip. "You never know when you may need a Playboy for those cold, lonely winter nights," he advised with a grin.

-----

The sun was just beginning to set when Chris and Gordie parted ways with the others. The town was awash in an amber glow, the hilltops appearing as if they were on fire. Shop keepers were sweeping the outside of their stores, preparing for a long evening of sitting at the counter and waiting for some desperate sap to buy their junk.

Chris' sneakers slapped on the pavement as they walked in sync down Baker Street. "So, how you liking those honors classes so far?" he asked, dispelling the comfortable silence.

"Eh, they're not too bad. It's weird being alone, though. I'm used to seeing your ugly mug every day," he responded with a smile.

Chris laughed. "Yeah, but I'm sure you've got prettier girls in your classes…you know, smart girls."

Gordie shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

They were just rounding the corner on Baker, ready to split ways, when a girl crossed their path. She was dragging a crate filled with books, huffing at the weight of it, her hair falling in to her face.

"Hey, let me help you with that," Chris offered. When she looked up, Gordie realized it was the same girl from school, the one who'd talked to him in the hallway this afternoon. Sara, that's it. She grinned when she saw him standing there.

"Hi, Gordie…fancy meeting you here," she chirped. She smiled gratefully at Chris as he lifted up the crate with ease. She motioned to the bookstore behind her. "That's my Daddy's shop…we're just bringing in some of the displays for the night. I don't know why he insists on sending little ol' me out here to do this every night. You can just set it on the table inside."

Chris nodded, doing just as she asked, and left Sara and Gordie outside. He shuffled his feet in the dust between the cracks of the sidewalk, not quite sure what to say.

"So, you live around here?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, I live right off of Baker…you?"

"Oh, I live down on Westchester," she explained. "I just come out here to work with my father and go to school. I couldn't really stand the kids at the school near me, so I asked to be transferred."

Gordie knew what she meant. Westchester was a nice area, perhaps the wealthiest neighborhood in Castle Rock. Owning a home there meant you were a successful businessman or lawyer, and your kids were most likely snobs that looked down on the Castle Rock junior high kids.

Chris popped out of the store, appearing unsure as if he was interrupting their conversation. "It's on the table for you."

"Thanks! Well, I guess I better be going…my Dad will have a fit if I'm not back in there to help him with the customers. Thanks again for your help."

"Anytime."

She gave them a short wave, her eyes glued to Gordie. "See you tomorrow then?" she asked.

He smiled back at her. "Sure…see you!"

Chris turned to him once she'd gone back inside, a small smile upturning his lips. "Who's that? And why are you grinning so much?"

Gordie blushed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What? Oh, that's just Sara. She's a girl in my English class…she seems pretty nice... and I'm not grinning."

Chris was quiet for a moment, and the only noises that could be heard were the crickets coming out to play as twilight settled in, and the scraping of their shoes against cement. They followed the street until the very end, stopping in front of Gordie's house, which was lit up in the kitchen. He could see his mother's silhouette bustling about, popping a dinner in the stove.

"I think that girl likes you, man," Chris finally commented. He pulled a cigarette from the pack he kept concealed in the sleeve of his shirt, not bothering to offer Gordie one since he knew his Mom had the nose of a bloodhound. "She couldn't keep her eyes off of you."

Gordie shoved his friend, barely able to keep the sheepish grin off his face. "She probably just likes me as a friend, asshole."

Chris was silent for a moment, dragging on his cigarette thoughtfully. Tendrils of smoke caressed their faces, and Gordie had to wave it away to keep the stench off of him.

"I guess it's better that way, though," Chris said, a faraway look in his eyes. "Girls will just bring you down…you don't need that." He looked at Gordie and smiled. "Besides, you've got us!"

"Yeah, but I can't screw you guys…sorry to disappoint you," Gordie joked.

Chris merely shook his head and laughed. "See you, man," he said before heading down the street, ready to get home before his Dad served him a few good punches before suppertime.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

That Saturday, the guys had had enough of school and were ready to kick off the weekend with a little carefree fun; the day was warm enough to wear short-sleeved shirts and baseball caps to shield the sun, even though the trees were now tinged in hues of rust and yellow, signaling the arrival of fall. They'd just finished a game of baseball in the lot behind the high school, and were now cutting through the woods to find the bottle of whiskey they'd stashed away while skipping school the other day. If Gordie closed his eyes, he could almost feel like he was searching for Ray Brower again, leaves crunching underneath their feet as they traversed trails through unchartered territory (except this situation wasn't nearly as ominous as that).

"God, guys, are we ever going to stop walking?" Vern complained. "Man, after last weekend, I don't think I can walk ever again."

"Vern, if you don't shut up I'm going to shove this bat up your pie hole," Teddy threatened, swinging his baseball bat in front of Vern's face, coming dangerously close to whacking him in the nose.

"Cut it out, Teddy!" Vern shouted, swatting him away. Teddy merely laughed, while Vern's face turned a shade of purple.

"God, I am so going to get you one day," he growled.

Teddy stopped dead in his tracks, peering over at Vern with a serious expression on his face. "I'll be sure to watch out for that."

"Guys, come on, quit it," Chris snapped. He wasn't in too good a mood that afternoon—earlier that morning over a pancake breakfast, Eyeball was starting in on him as he usually did, ragging on him for not being as tough as the other hoods.

"Ace is gonna beat your sorry ass, Chris," he'd said, shoveling bacon in to his mouth. "And I ain't gonna bail you out on this one."

"What do I care, huh? I can take him just fine."

Eyeball smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Oh, really? You don't have it in you, little bro. I'd like to see you take him on without your friends around."

Chris knew he was asking for it, knew very well he was playing with fire. "Fuck, Eyeball, I don't even care anymore…let him come at me. I'll be ready to fight."

"What's this about a fight?" Mr. Chambers stumbled downstairs, tying his robe around his heavy belly. He approached the kitchen table, and grabbed two pieces of sausage from Eyeball's plate, devouring them in two gulps. "I better not be hearing what I think I'm hearing," he growled. "I ain't bailing you two shits out of jail."

"Dad, don't worry about it," Eyeball said harshly, glaring up at his father. "This ain't nothing we can't handle, right Christopher?" He looked over at his brother with a smirk on his face. Chris could feel himself seething, but held a lid on his temper for now. There was no sense stirring up shit with his father around. One wrong move, and your head was slammed against the wall in the blink of an eye.

"Chris better not be getting in to fights…after that whole milk money ordeal, I'll be damned if I have to be ashamed of this goddamned family again. One sign of trouble and you're outta here!"

"But, Dad!" Chris huffed. "I didn't take that money, and you know it!"

Mr. Chambers took a sip of his black coffee. "I don't know nothing," he mumbled. He picked up the morning paper and buried his head down, signaling the end of discussion.

"Chris?"

Chris snapped his head up and realized he was still walking through the woods. Gordie was looking over at him strangely. He also noticed Teddy and Vern were up a ways on the path, engaged in their own boisterous conversation.

"Yeah? Sorry, I'm just not with it right now," he mumbled.

"I thought you seemed a bit off."

"It's nothing, man…don't worry about me." They walked in silence for a moment, listening to the sounds of the woods, the hum of bees and the tapping of woodpeckers against tree trunks surrounding them. Chris finally let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm just sick of it, you know? Sick of living here, sick of going to school when I know goddamned well it's not going to do a thing for me…sick of being a Chambers."

"I know." It was all Gordie knew what to say, but somehow he knew Chris would understand. Gordie knew because he'd been there before, just in a different way. While Chris' dad beat on him with fists, his own Dad waged his war with glares over the dinner table and words meant to cut him down to size.

"Remember when I asked you last week if I'd ever get out of this town?" Chris asked softly, his voice hardly above a whisper. "Well, I've been thinking about splitting, just getting on out of here."

"What?!" Gordie could feel his stomach churn in shock, not only because of Chris' plans to run away, but also for the fact that he'd only just now informed him about it. "You're really thinking about doing that? Why?"

"Because there's nothing for me here! I'll always be a lowlife Chambers here…if I go to a bigger city, I won't have to worry about none of that."

Gordie felt sick, like the world was spinning to fast for him to catch his grip on it. He didn't want to make a scene by whining about it, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness as he thought of Chris leaving.

"But who else will keep Teddy in line?" Gordie asked weakly. "Or remind Vern to change his underwear every so often?"

Chris cracked a smile, and peered over at his friend. "Yeah, I am quite good at that, aren't I?" He looked down at his shoes, his eyes glazing over. "I don't know, man…I just know I'm not happy here."

"Running away isn't going to make it better, Chris…there's bad shit every where…just more so here than any other places."

Chris finally laughed, slinging an arm over friend's shoulder. "Yeah, this place really is a shit hole."

"Guys, will you walk a little faster?" They looked up to see Teddy hollering at them. "Vern's about to pass out from all this walking! I think we may have to carry him."

"Shit," Chris laughed, shaking his head.

"See, look at all the fun you'd be missing," teased Gordie.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

After lugging Vern through the sweltering hot forest for about fifteen minutes, they managed to revive him just on the outskirts of town, using their hands to wave air on his face. He stumbled up on his feet and grimaced, red faced and sweating.

"Thanks, guys…I thought I was going to pass out…sincerely!" he huffed. "We forgot to get that whiskey, though."

"Never mind it, Vern," Gordie said. "We'll get it some other time."

They shuffled through town, their legs cramping with fatigue. "So, what do you guys wanna do now?" Teddy asked. "It's only 1:30, and I'll be damned if I'm going home this early on a Saturday."

"Well, we can't go to my house," Chris said. "My dad's on the rampage lately, and I'm sure Eyeball will just give us hell. What about your place, Vern?"

Vern groaned. "My house is so boring, guys. You know my Mom will just keep popping in on us, making sure we're not doing anything bad."

"So true…what about your place, Gordie?"

"We could go to the tree house…I'm sure my folks won't even know we're up there," Gordie suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good…you guys game?" The others nodded in agreement.

It was settled. They had a destination, a place to hang out during their Saturday afternoon, and were suddenly filled with purpose. After stopping by Gringo's to pick up some snacks and soda pop, the boys headed down Baker towards Gordie's house. Gordie paused for a moment as they passed Castle Rock Bookstore, his neck craning a bit to peek inside the dust-stained glass, but he quickly snapped his head back around once he noticed Teddy eyeing him suspiciously.

"You reading again, Gordie?" he asked. "Man, I never understood why you did that."

"Shut up, Teddy…look, I'm just going to run inside for a second. See ya in a minute."

Chris nodded at him knowingly, and Gordie took this as his cue to head on in. A bell tinkled as he pushed his way in, and he was suddenly embarrassed, feeling like everyone in the store was looking at him. He brushed off some dirt on his jeans, and tried to appear casual as he sauntered inside.

He noticed Sara behind the front counter, arranging a shelf of books. She was humming rather loudly, oblivious to the customers who were attempting to read their books in peace. Gordie snatched the nearest book and buried his face in it when he saw her turn around, pretending to be unaware of her presence.

"You've got it upside down."

She flipped the book over for him, and he saw that she was grinning. He could feel his cheeks staining crimson. "I didn't know you were interested in women's underwear." He looked down and realized with horror the book he was holding was a manual on fashion, opened to a page on women's bras and panties, layed out in excruciating detail. If he could sink in the floor at that very moment, he would. "Is there something you're not telling me, Gordie?" She laughed and punched him lightly on the arm when his mouth gaped open. "Just teasing you…so what brings you here besides our wonderful selection of fashion books?"

"Ok, so I made an ass of myself," he muttered. "I just wanted to say hello and see what you were up to." God, why did he even attempt to talk to girls? He started to turn away, but she grabbed his shoulder.

"Gordie, no, stay! Look, I'm actually on my way out of here. I brought my bike this time, but I suppose we can walk a few blocks together?"

"Oh well, umm"- Before he could tell her about his friends waiting outside for him, she was waving him off, telling him she'd be out in a minute. He slowly headed outside, avoiding the probing stares of his friends, who were waiting anxiously on the sidewalk.

"So? Did you get any comic books or anything?" Vern demanded as he eyed Gordie.

Chris was staring at him intensely, and Gordie knew he might as well spill the beans now. There was no sense acting like this was some big deal. She was just a girl…a pretty one, but a harmless girl nonetheless. "Nah, I was just saying hi to this girl in my English class…she works here."

He almost wished he could suck those words right back in to his mouth the moment Teddy started whooping and hollering. "Ooh, Gordie's got a girlfriend!" he teased. "So, tell us, how does it feel to be de-virginized?"

"Teddy, she's not my girlfriend," he warned him with sharp words and a razor stare. "And do you always have to be so loud and annoying?"

Before he could retort back a sarcastic reply, Sara came out of the store, wheeling her bicycle along side of her. Her eye widened in surprise when she saw Gordie wasn't alone. "Oh, Gordie, I didn't know you were with your friends."

"Well, hello there." Teddy stepped forward immediately, giving a Gordie a sly side-glance. "My friend tells me allll about you."

"Teddy, cut it out," he snapped. "Sara, this asshole here is Teddy Du Champ, and this guy here in the striped shirt is Vern Tessio. You met Chris the other day."

"Oh, yes, hi! Well, Gordie, I see you have plans, so I guess I'll just see you in class on Monday morning. Nice meeting you all." She waved at them, giving Gordie a prolonged look, and started to set off on her bike, but Gordie jogged off after her, ignoring the looks his friends shot him.

"Hey, wait!"

She came to a halt, nearly colliding in to a lamppost. He looked at her sheepishly, hands in his pockets. "I'll walk with you for a few blocks…the guys can wait for me. Let me just tell them, ok?"

She nodded, and he walked back over to his friends. Surely they wouldn't mind him missing out on the fun for just a few minutes? "Hey, guys, I'm going to walk with Sara for a few blocks towards Westchester…meet you up at the tree house in a few?"

Vern shrugged. "Alright, but your lemonade's gonna get warm. And I'll probably end up drinking it before you get there. I'm pretty thirsty."

Chris stepped forward, and to Gordie's surprise, he saw that his friend's face was serious. "You sure you wanna go off with her? You barely know the girl." Gordie just looked at his friend, anger rising up in his chest and pulsating in his temples.

_'What the fuck is his problem?'_ he pondered.

"Yeah, she might be a rapist or something," quipped Teddy.

"Oh, oh!" Vern squealed. "I heard about those types on the news…they sneak up on people when they're walking alone at night and attack them, throwing them in to the bushes and having their way with them! Gordie, man, I don't think you should go."

"Vern, she's not a rapist," Gordie said dryly. "I'll see you guys soon."

"Come on, guys," Chris said quietly, leading the others away after shaking his head at Gordie. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as his friends slumped off without him, afraid that he'd ditched them somehow.

"Hey, don't look so glum," Sara chided as he idled up to her. "Your friends seem like nice guys. Are you sure you want to walk with me?"

"Yeah, it's ok…man, I don't know what's up Chris' ass." He still couldn't get over how Chris had tried to talk him out of walking with Sara. What was his problem? Usually Chris was on his side, not rooting against him. "I mean, what does it matter to him if I go off with you?" He felt stupid for ranting like that, especially after he was met with silence. The only sound between them was the wheel on Sara's bike rolling against the pavement.

"So, I guess Chris is your best friend, right?" she finally asked. "Don't tell me how I know…I just do."

He smiled softly. "Yeah, we're all good friends. I've known Chris since grade school, and we just met Vern and Teddy two years ago. Teddy's a bit of a loon, but he's a good friend to have on your side."

She chuckled to herself, and it was quiet again, except for this time it was a comfortable silence. He sneaked a few glances at her, noticing how red her hair was in the sunlight, not the dark hue he was used to seeing in the classroom.

She cleared her throat suddenly, and looked over at him. "So, Gordie…um, there's a Sadie Hawkins dance coming up in a few weeks. It's, like, this tradition Castle Rock does every year for the junior high students. Pretty dumb, if you ask me…maybe I'm just not one for dressing up in prissy clothes. Now, I don't normally go to these things, but I figured it'd be fun to go with you. We can laugh at all the lame kids in our class or something."

Gordie blinked, letting her question sink in. Was she really asking him to the dance? He'd never in his life been asked out, much less to a school dance. He almost forgot he had a voice at that moment.

"Um, you want go with me?" he stammered.

"Well, you don't have to," she said quickly. "I just thought since girls ask the guys to this sort of thing, that I'd ask you. Since you're pretty much the only guy friend I have."

He flushed, feeling good that she'd called him a friend. "Ok, yeah, I'll go." She beamed at his response.

"Cool! Damn it, now I actually have to borrow a dress. Look at what you've done to me, Gordie!"

He laughed, finally feeling at ease. He wanted to run home now and shove it in his father's face that he'd gotten a date, that he wasn't at all the pussy he thought Gordie was. He tucked that urge away, figuring he'll just shock the hell out of him the night of the dance, decked out in his finest clothes as he whisked Sara away, a shit-eating grinned etched on his face.

"So, I guess you can just leave me here," Sara said suddenly as they came to a stop in front of a pastry shop a few blocks away. "I've got a long haul ahead of me, and I'd feel bad making you suffer through it on foot."

"Trust me, I've walked further," he trailed off.

He stared at her, and quickly brought his eyes down to meet the sidewalk as she gazed back at him. Before she could say anything, a car whizzed by them, radio blaring obnoxiously down the quiet street. As he peered in to the distance, he realized it was the car that the Cobras had stolen (no one could mistake that flashy car…you'd think such experienced thieves could hock a less noticeable one?), and sure enough, the back of Ace's platinum blonde head was visible from the passenger seat. Thank god Gordie had his baseball cap to hide his face!

"Fuck," he muttered. Now he'd have to walk home and worry about not getting his ass kicked the whole way.

"What's wrong?"

He looked back to see Sara grinning as she stared off at the car, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.

"Oh, nothing…just those guys. They're real assholes," he explained. "Did you see that one guy in the front with the blonde hair? He's a real dick."

"Yeah, that's Ace Merrill," she said matter-of-factly.

He looked at her with surprise written in his eyes. "Do you know him or something?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, I'd say I know him pretty well. Ace is my cousin."


	8. Notice to my readers

**A notice to all of my readers:**

I am so sorry that I haven't been able to post as regularly as I used to. Truth is, I've been really busy lately. I'm going to college and this is my last semester at school, so the amount of work is pretty unbearable. I absolutely NEED to graduate this semester so I can move on to better things and another school.

So, my readers, this is a notice that I'm going on a short hiatus from writing this story. I will **NOT** be abandoning it so don't worry. I could never do that to my favorite boys (not to mention my fabulous readers, heehehe). I just need time to re-group, collect my thoughts, and take care of some things at school before I can move on. We've now reached the halfway point in my story, so the next few chapters will be the last half of my story.

My spring break is next week, so you _might_ see a new chapter from me then, but don't get your hopes up. I'm currently stuck on Chapter 8, so who knows…you might get a chapter soon, though! crosses fingers

Otherwise, expect a new chapter sometime in early May…I know it's far away, but that's when school ends for me and I can devote more time to writing!

I hope everyone is well…I'm sorry I have to do this, but I have no choice right now. I will be back, though…mark my words:)

Peace and Love,

Kristel


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8**

"Gordie?"

He blinked, realizing he was still staring blankly at Sara. He let her words sink in, trying to make sense of what he just heard.

"Ace…is your cousin?" he stammered.

She narrowed her eyes quizzically, a confused expression on her face. "Yeah, is that a problem?"

"No!" he said quickly, although he knew very well it was. "Ace just hates me, is all. He hates all of my friends, actually. I just can't believe you're related to him. I mean, you're nice and you come from a good part of town. He…doesn't."

"Yeah, I know," she admitted. "He can be a bit hard-headed, but he's still family. Do you want me to tell him to lay off of you?"

Gordie flushed, feeling embarrassed at the prospect of Sara defending him like he was some little boy. "No, it's ok. It's fine…he probably forgot all about it," he lied. "I gotta get back to my friends…see you in school on Monday?"

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine…see ya." And with that, he was off, knowing her eyes were following him as he walked off, and finally he heard her bike pedal away over the cement. Dejectedly, he began kicking up pieces of trash on the sidewalk as he walked.

He couldn't believe Sara was related to Ace. The one girl who had any interest in him was the cousin of a guy he couldn't stand, or more importantly, a guy who would beat him to a pulp if he found out about them being linked together. He didn't know what he was going to do now…should he just tell her to forget about the dance? Or maybe he should just avoid her at all costs.

'That's gonna be kind of hard with us being in the same class and all,' he thought miserably. He slumped all the way home, trying to forget about the situation for the mean time as he heard his friends laughing boisterously up in the tree house.

Poking his head up in to the entrance, he saw his friends lazing about, engaged in a game of cards and eating the snacks they'd purchased earlier. Like expected, Vern had two empty bottles of lemonade perched next to him, so Gordie would have to go thirsty once again.

"Hey, Gordie!" Vern greeted him, looking up. "Did you have fun?"

"What Vern means, is did you get any?" Teddy corrected. "Shit, I fold…I've got a lousy hand. Gordie, wanna play?"

"Nah, I'm just gonna read for a bit," he said, picking up his favorite detective comic that was stashed away under a moth-eaten blanket. He settled himself near the opening that overlooked Castle Rock, ignoring the stares Chris was giving him.

"Gordie, you ok?" Chris asked after a few minutes of Gordie thumbing absent-mindedly through his book.

"Yup," he replied, keeping his eyes focused on his page and letting his mind become engrossed in tales of murder and intrigue.

"So, what happened?" Chris pressed on. "You're acting like she just dumped you."

"We'd have to be dating for that to happen," he said icily.

"Aww, Gordie…did she break your little heart?" cooed Teddy. "Are you gonna run home and write a little poem about it?" He could see Chris and Vern trying to hide smiles as Teddy teased him mercilessly.

"God, can you be any more of an asshole?" Gordie snarled, tossing his comic aside. Gordie rarely got upset, but when he did, his eyes paled like two coals dying out and his face turned ashen with fury. "Fuck this, I'm going home," he muttered, quickly easing down the decrepit wooden ladder.

"Uh oh, it looks like it's someone's time of the month again," Teddy murmured as they all sat in stunned silence.

Gordie could hear sneakers slapping against the hard-packed dirt as he stormed home and he knew by the heavy-footed walk that it was Chris tailgating him.

"Hey, man, what is your problem?" Chris demanded. "You've been acting really weird lately."

Gordie kept plowing on, his notorious stubborn streak getting the best of him. Right now he just wanted to be alone; he didn't want to whine about his problems like some little sissy. Chris was strange that way—as tough as he looked, he sure acted sensitively sometimes. He never wanted his friends to suffer alone, always had to be there to fight their problems with them all the way.

"Did you even hear me?"

Gordie slowed down a bit, although he kept his head focused on his house, which loomed only a few feet away. Chris forced himself in front of Gordie, blocking him from heading up the porch steps.

"Well?"

Gordie stared at him, trying to cool his temper which was steadily rising. He really didn't want to tell Chris about Sara and Ace being cousins, at least not right this instant any way. He was still pissed off at Teddy ragging on him like he was some little girl who'd just gotten dumped, and Chris trying to delve in to his feelings didn't help matters.

"Chris, get out of the way," he said softly.

"Not 'til you answer me," he persisted. "What the fuck is up with you? If someone's been giving you trouble, let me know and I can beat the shit out of them."

"Um, thanks, Chris, but you don't need to defend me, ok? I think I can do it on my own…I don't need you."

There was a deafening silence between them, Chris' eyes clouding over with anger and perhaps a bit of hurt. He put one hand on his hip and stared off in to the distance, his gaze settling between the trees. Shaking his head, he mumbled, "I'm out of here."

Gordie didn't even look back, merely stormed in to the house and passed his parents eating dinner in the kitchen, running straight in to the safety of his room. Once he got there, he settled himself on the bed, knees perched up and his eyes staring at the ceiling. He started looking at all the little cracks in the ceiling, wondering just how many there were and how long they've been there. Anything to keep from thinking about how hard it was to finally realize that life was gonna get a little harder from here on out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_Gordie, _

_Meet me at the rock after class…something's been bothering you, I know it. Please don't skip out, ok?_

_Sara _

The letter that was passed to him was short and to the point, much like Sara herself. He turned his head, giving her a quick glance. She grinned at him, mouthing the word 'Smile!' and he couldn't help but oblige, pasting an equally goofy grin on his face.

"Gordie, is there something you find amusing about Shakespeare?" Mrs. Hadley looked up from her cat-eyed reading glasses, a small smile tugging at her lips even though she was trying her hardest to play the authoritative role.

"Oh…no, not really," he murmured, sinking in to his chair, burying himself in to the textbook so his classmates couldn't see the tops of his blushing crimson cheeks.

The rock wasn't a rock as much as it was boulder, a giant beast of a monument planted near the flagpole. It was meant to 'symbolize Castle Rock's history', the mayor of their town liked to boast, an altar to the first settlers that had traveled through the Oregon plains in search of a new place to call their home.

Gordie knew that was a crock of shit, though. Teddy's dad had told them about how he'd delivered the rock himself with three other men, poor freelance workers looking to make a quick buck. The rock had probably come from the Home and Gardens depot downtown…either that or Teddy's dad had made up yet another story fabricated from his loony mind.

He was leaning against that very rock now, non-conspicuously trying to eye the crowd of students coming out of the school. Not only was he looking for Sara, but for any sign of his gang as well; usually they'd wait for him near the stairs so they could all walk home together, but today they weren't there.

'Chris probably led them out the back door so he didn't have to see me,' he thought bitterly. Gordie hadn't heard a peep out of any of his friends since Saturday (he was running late this morning, so his Mom had to drive him to school in their clunker of a station wagon, much to his embarrassment). He now wondered if he'd been out of line with Chris…in his own way, he really was just looking out for Gordie like he always did.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He broke out of his daze and saw Sara trotting up to him. Her auburn hair, which swished around behind her in a ponytail as she jogged, complimented the iridescent white rays of the late September sun. The air was noticeably chilly now and both of them wore sweaters to ease the bite of the wind.

"You seem deep in thought," she observed. "So, how about you tell me why you've been acting so weird lately."

He shook his head, avoiding her eyes. "It's nothing…I guess I'm just not feeling like myself lately."

She brushed passed him, hoisting one leg up on to the rock so she could get better leverage and pulled herself up to a sitting position. He couldn't help but catch a peek up her skirt as she crossed her legs in front of her. "Come on up!" she exclaimed with a giggle. "It's really not as intimidating as it looks…I swear, this thing looks like it may have been plastic at one point."

He laughed and joined her up there, brushing the dust off his arms once he was settled next to her. They both watched the activity of Castle Rock Junior High in comfortable silence, watching the school buses push their doors open to let in hyperactive kids that were ready to get the hell out of there. Some straggled home in groups, tattered books in hand, while others lingered behind on the grass, stealing a quick smoke before getting on home. A couple of rowdy jocks were doing just that as they jabbed each other playfully with their baseball bats, cigarettes tucked in the corner of their mouths as the curse words tumbled out on the other side.

"God, I hate this place," Sara suddenly murmured. He was surprised to hear those words from her. She always seemed so bubbly and determined, like she knew that one day she'd get out of there but was content to have fun anyway while she was stuck. He guessed people will always find new ways to surprise him.

"You sound like my friend Chris…he can't wait to get out of here."

"Why, does he come from a lousy family or something?"

Normally Gordie would be uncomfortable sharing such private information with anyone outside of their circle, but he somehow felt at ease with Sara, like she'd never rat on him or betray his trust. "Yeah, he's a Chambers…your cousin hangs out with his brother Eyeball. Anyway, the Chambers name is far from good here."

"Oh, I see…well, I guess I can see why Chris would want to get away. Maybe he feels he'd could start fresh somewhere else, somewhere where nobody knows him."

Gordie nodded; he could almost feel the bark from an old oak tree in Back Harlow Woods scratching against the thin fabric on his back and the snot from Chris' nose dribbling on to the cuff of his shirt as he poured out his heart the night before they'd discovered Ray Brower. Chris had told him things he hadn't told anyone else, how he'd just wanted to disappear and leave this old town and his old man behind. Gordie had never felt as close to another human being before or felt so needed, and for once, just for that very instant…Gordie had no longer become the invisible boy to anyone.

"Yeah…yeah, he does feel that way," Gordie whispered.

"It seems like you guys are pretty close friends," she said, not without a trace of envy. "I never really had friends, to be honest."

"What? Why?" he asked quizzically. Sara was so refreshingly open and friendly that it was hard to imagine her without friends.

She shrugged. "I was too smart, I guess. Not trying to be mean, but all the girls who went to Westchester were too dumb and lazy. They hated me because I didn't kiss their ass or give them the answers on tests." She frowned, picking a leaf off of her sock and continued, "The kids are a lot nicer here, but I guess I just never really had time for anything but studying and trying to keep my parents happy."

"Wow, I never would've thought you to be that way…I always thought you were pretty friendly, perhaps too friendly." He grinned impishly at her, provoking a poke in the ribs.

She laughed. "I saw a similar soul in you, Gordie…don't be creeped out, but I've watched you in the hallways and just saw that same sad look that I felt so familiar with." Sara became unusually quiet, her eyes glazing over as she experienced an inner pain Gordie wasn't privy to. He watched her for a minute, then opened his mouth to speak.

"You don't seem so sad," Gordie remarked softly.

She chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully and finally brought her eyes up to meet his. "Sometimes it's just easier to act tough and let the world think you're dealing with it than to let them know you're suffering. You know what I mean, Gordie?"

And the truth was, he did. He knew it from Chris and he even knew it from dealing with the loss of his brother Denny. All those nights spent locked in his room, trying to pen his thoughts on to paper, only to crumple the damned thing up and bury his tears in to his pillow, away from the prying eyes of his parents.

Gordie felt Sara's hand clasp in to his own, shy and self-conscious at first, but it gradually began to feel natural. He ran his thumb softly over the pale flesh on her hand and decided to take a chance. Leaning over, he tried to brush a kiss over her lips, but she moved and it ended up landing on her chin. She giggled, in fact they both did, their cheeks flushing, partly in embarrassment, but mostly in excitement.

"I suck at this," he admitted.

"So do I," she divulged with a shy chuckle. "Let's be awkward idiots together."

"I can do that," he said with a grin, putting a hand on her back to steady himself.

This time, his kiss was successful; their lips met gently and he lingered there for a moment, loving how silky smooth her mouth was. He could faintly taste strawberry gum on her lips. He also couldn't help but imagine Teddy cheering him on ('Go get her, tiger! Make a move further south!') so he broke away before he started laughing.

"Aw, now I've gotten a smile out of you," she teased. "You know, you still didn't tell me what was bugging you, but now that I see I've brightened your day, I shall forget all about it."

"You're too kind," he said playfully. He felt like he was on top of the world at that very instant and he only wished he had his friends there to share in his joy.

"Well, I better get going…Dad wants me at the shop by 3:30 and it looks like I'm already running late." She leaned over and gave him a shy peck on the cheek, a soft smile playing on her lips. "See you soon, Gordie."

"See you," he echoed, watching her walk off. His eyes trailed her as she snatched her bike up from the rack near the front entrance of the school and followed her as she turned down the corner and out of sight. Flutters of giddiness still danced around in his stomach as he replayed their kiss over and over again in his mind. He sat there on the boulder for what seemed like a long time, lost in his reverie, until he finally started to head home as the white afternoon sunlight blazed in to an orangey-red evening fire.

Chris trudged home, Teddy and Vern flanked on both sides, their backpacks becoming heavier by the minute.

"I wonder where Gordie went," Vern mused. "I swear I saw him in the hall ways today…didn't you see him, Chris?"

"No, I didn't see him, Vern," Chris said pointedly. The truth was, Chris had seen Gordie on top of the ol' Castle Rock monument after school. He'd been with that girl again, sitting awfully close together on top of the rock.

"He's probably with that Sara girl," Vern went on.

Teddy groaned loudly. "Man, he's always with her…he better not forget our 6th grade pact—friends always come before pussy, no matter how hot that pussy may be." Chris just stared at his friend, shaking his head incredulously. "What? It's just a fact, Chris!" Teddy exclaimed.

"I know it's a fact, but Gordie's gonna do his own thing any way. And I can't really do anything about that and neither can you."

"You're just jealous because you don't have a girl…admit it, Chris."

"I can get one any time I want," he defended. "I just don't want one, is all. Besides, the only girls around me are Eyeball's girls and I don't want no cheap whore."

"What?" sputtered Teddy. "Cheap whores are the best! Older, cheap whores are even better!"

"Then how come you don't have one, Teddy?" Vern asked innocently.

"Because your Mom's married, remember?" he shot back.

Vern made a face at him; the Mom jokes never ceased to put one on the defensive. "I really have to get you back one day…I'm just too damned tired to fight right now."

"Excuses!" Teddy jeered. "You will never get me back, just face it. Besides, nothing you can do will beat your Mom in bed. She's just that good." He smiled innocently.

"Whatever…see you guys later." Vern waved at his friends and they split their own ways. He walked up the gravel path that led to his house, whistling to himself. The scent of baking bread wafted from the open kitchen window, as well as a Bobby Darin tune from the radio his Mom kept blaring on the counter as she cooked. Mrs. Tessio was a teacher at the elementary school but always found time after her long hours at work to cook an elaborate meal, much to the chagrin of Vern's waistline.

"Hey, Mom!" he called as he walked passed her. Her head was buried in the stove as she splashed some seasoning over her roast beef. She straightened herself and looked at her son, pushing a sweaty strand of her chestnut hair out of her face.

"Hey, sweetie…how was school?"

"Fine…what's for dinner?" he asked eagerly, trying to peer over her to get a better look at the delicious food cooking on the stove.

"Roast beef, potatoes, string beans in garlic sauce, and plenty of biscuits," she said cheerily. "I cooked your favorites tonight!"

He beamed, knowing very well he was a Momma's boy but not caring at that moment. "All right, I'm gonna go do some homework before dinner," he lied, ready to dig in to the Playboy magazine Teddy had let him borrow.

"Okay…oh, Vern, let Billy know it's his turn to set the table today," she reminded him.

"Ok," he agreed, bounding up the stairs. He was about to pound on Billy's door when he heard two voices arguing in hushed tones. His notorious curiosity got the best of him, and even though the door was slightly ajar, he managed to flatten himself against it, his ear pressed gently near the crack.

"Ace is gonna kill 'em," one of the voices warned. It sounded like Eyeball Chambers. "He's biding time, but I really think he's serious."

"Fuck," Billy moaned, "now I gotta worried about Vern getting hurt. This is way out of control, man."

"What are you telling me for? I know. Ace has it in his head that he's gonna be stalking around the school soon…trying to find out where they are."

Vern paled and started to shake. This was even more serious than he'd thought. Frankly, he thought Ace just needed to blow steam and had forgotten about the whole mess on the first day of school, but apparently he was wrong.

"He knows there's that dance coming up," Eyeball went on. "If I were you, I'd tell Vern not to go. Tell him to lay low for a while."

"Shit, if Ace finds out I did that I'll be fucked!" exclaimed Billy.

"Don't pussy out, Tessio," Eyeball snapped. "You think I like doing this any more than you do? I don't want to be my brother's keeper and look like a damned idiot. But, man, you gotta…Ace means serious business."

There was a bit of silence for a moment and he strained his ear to hear the next words that came out of his brother's mouth.

"Ok, ok…I'll have to tell him in a way that won't look weird, you know? Make him think something better is going on the night of the dance, maybe bribe him somehow. I can't make him think Ace is gonna knife him."

'Oh man, oh man, oh man,' Vern thought frantically. He thought he might shit himself at the thought of Ace running at him when he least expected it, switchblade in hand. He was so consumed by his own fear that he didn't realize just how close to the door he was. His ear leaned in a little further, just enough to send the door back and expose him. Eyeball, who was pacing in the room, stopped talking to gape at Vern in surprise.

Billy jumped up from the bed, an angry glint in his eye. "What are you doing there? I told you not to be snooping around."

"I-I wasn't…I swear! I-I just wanted to tell you Mom said it was your turn to set the table…that's all!" he fumbled. He felt like he was going to hurl, but tried to play it cool for his brother.

Billy looked at Eyeball and they both seemed to be relieved. "Alright, I'll do it in a few…can you get out now?"

"Yeah, yeah sure," he agreed. His arm trembling, he quickly closed the door and ran to the bathroom, emptying the contents of his nervous stomach. He didn't feel so hungry now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note:** Sorry the chapter took so long, guys. I tried to make it a bit longer, but failed miserably, lol.

** Chapter 11**

Chris leaned against the porch railing as he dragged on his cigarette, staring off in to the distance at his neighbors' house. He'd just eaten dinner as fast as he could, eager to escape the barrage of insults his Dad usually threw at him about his school grades, and the cigarette was calming his nerves.

Peering over the fence, he could see his neighbor Johnny Demarco and his hood brothers, Alan and Steve, loitering in their yard, polishing up a motorcycle that was undoubtedly stolen from some poor sap's garage. Their mother, Sue Demarco, was rocking in a rickety chair on their porch, her chubby legs barely clothed in her see-through nightgown.

"That thing's still a piece of shit, Stevie," she called out to her youngest son. "Polishing it ain't gonna make it look better…couldn't you steal a nicer lookin' bike?"

"Ma, it ain't done yet!" snapped Johnny.

Chris pulled harder on his cigarette, rolling his eyes in disgust. Was this all his life had to offer? Living next to thugs…hell, being one of them even. The Demarco's might've very well been the Merrills or the Desjardins…or the Chambers family. Vern and Teddy's family even had it better than he did…shit, Vern never got much flack because his parents were teachers and respected in society, and all the teasing Teddy got was because he was a nut, but at least he was a nut that people were afraid to pick on. And Gordie was virtually ignored, probably because he so quiet and a bit of a loner. Chris envied that, he'd wished all his life that he could just be left alone and not be associated with the bad reputation that came with being a Chambers.

'But I'm not like them,' he reassured himself. 'I'm not some thief or some lowlife…I'm better than this.' The thought brought him little comfort. As long as he lived here in this poor little suburb of Castle Rock, he would always be a lowlife and a thief and nothing more.

"Hey, kid…what are you doing out here?" Eyeball came shuffling up the driveway. He looked a little anxious, his hands shoved deep in to the pockets of his jeans, his eyes darting about.

Chris held up his cigarette. "Smoking, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Dad will be mad if he sees that," Eyeball reminded him quietly.

"Dad knows I smoke and he doesn't care," Chris said pointedly, in no mood for this conversation. "Why do you care any way?"

Eyeball didn't answer, merely shrugged his thin shoulders. He joined his little brother up against the railing and lit his own cigarette, the glow of it washing his face in orange light. There was a bit of an awkward silence between them, the only sounds heard were their mouths parting to exhale their smoke and the gravelly voice of Mrs. Demarco as she yelled at her three boys.

"So, are you going to the dance up at the school?" Eyeball finally asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth.

Chris glanced at his brother in surprise. He was sure acting strange tonight, which was odd since his breath didn't reek of cheap beer like it usually did. Since when did Eyeball care about anything he did? Chris had never been close to his brother the way brothers should be close…in fact, he'd always assumed Eyeball had hated him because he wasn't tough. They never talked about serious stuff like Gordie and his brother Denny had done before that fateful night in April, never had any heart-to-hearts.

"Nah, no one asked me…it's a Sadie Hawkins thing," he said.

Eyeball relaxed, giving his brother a pat on the shoulder. "Those dances are pretty lame any way…I went to one back in junior high and Principal Sanders made sure no one got beyond a peck on the cheek. They watch you like a hawk over there, it ain't never any fun."

"I would've gone if someone asked me…what else am I gonna do on a Friday night?"

"Why don't you hang out with that fat kid or the four-eyed loony guy you usually hang out with…or Denny La Chance's weird brother?" Eyeball quickly suggested. "I'll probably be out Friday night, so you guys will have the TV to yourselves after Dad goes out, which you know will be early since it's two-for-one night at Happy Jack's."

"My friends have names, Eyeball," Chris said sharply. "Can you just leave me alone for a little while? I'm not going to the dance, don't worry."

Eyeball nodded, a flash of annoyance in his eyes. "Alright, don't be mouthin' off. Ok, I'm gonna tell Mom you guys are gonna be here Friday night so she doesn't schedule one of her bridge club meetings here." He threw his cigarette over the railing and Chris watched it sail to the ground.

"Ok, it's getting fucking cold out here…goodnight, little brother." Eyeball disappeared in to the house, slamming the screen door behind him.

Chris shook his head, taking one last drag off of his cigarette, then tossed it aside just like his brother had done. He didn't know why Eyeball was being so nice of all a sudden, and truthfully, he didn't care. It was probably nothing.

He had no intention of going to the Sadie Hawkins dance any way. Gordie was probably going with that girl and there was nothing more awkward than being the third wheel. Besides, he was still sore from Gordie's words over the weekend. He'd thought up until this point that Gordie would always need him. Now he was being tossed aside for some girl, someone Gordie hardly even knew. He hated to admit it, but no matter how pissed off he was, deep down he was more hurt than anything. His friend didn't look up to him like he used to.

'And he was the one trying so hard to get me to stay in this town,' Chris thought somberly, feeling a sting of bitterness in his throat. Still, Chris missed his friend like crazy. He was always the one Chris went to when he had a problem because he never ragged on him like the other guys, always took his words seriously. The fact that some girl could be more important than the friendship they'd had for all those years really bugged him.

The sky was beginning to darken and the only light visible was from the fireflies that lingered in the yard. Chris shoved his hands in to his pockets and shivered, feeling the late September chill seep in to his light tee shirt. He couldn't afford heavier clothes just yet. Chris headed inside, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

The cafeteria was buzzing with excitement the following Wednesday afternoon…it was a mere two days before the Sadie Hawkins dance and the anticipation was palpable. Most girls huddled together at their tables, showing off catalogue clippings of the dresses they'd picked out from local boutiques, while other girls picked at their lunch forlornly, too shy to ask anyone out. Most of the guys were indifferent about the dance—it was mostly an excuse for the girls to dress up and bring the guy she'd been pining for since elementary school. Still, being asked to the dance was better than being looked over because that implied you weren't cool enough, and that wasn't a title any junior high boy wanted.

Gordie grabbed his tray after forking over twenty-five cents to the lunch lady and scanned his eyes through the sea of smiling faces to find his friends. Thankfully, Teddy's huge glasses could be spotted a mile away, so Gordie quickly pushed his way to the table towards the back left-hand corner of the room.

"Gordie!" Vern exclaimed through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Where've you been?"

Gordie glanced over at Chris, who seemed awfully interested in the meatloaf that he was cutting up with his fork. He cleared his throat and finally looked at Vern, forcing a smile. "Oh, I've been around…I've been at Sara's house these past few days doing some studying."

"Is that what you kids call it these days?" Teddy remarked.

"Well, necking is another term, but I like to reserve that phrase for your Mom," Gordie deadpanned, never missing a beat.

"Good one, Gordie!" Vern hooted, spraying a bit of meat on to the table as he chatted with his mouth full. Teddy merely punched Vern in the arm, prompting an 'Ow…Teddy!' from his friend.

"So, Gord-o, are you going to the dance on Friday?" Teddy went on. Chris was still wrapped up in his food, never once looking at Gordie. His mouth chewed on his carrots furiously.

"Umm, probably not," Gordie lied. "I think my Mom wants me home to help out with the yard work." He felt stupid for lying about it when he knew very well he was going, but he really didn't want to make waves with Chris. Truthfully, he kind of missed talking with the guys like he used to, especially Chris.

"Wait, you're not going?" Chris finally said, his eyes boring in to Gordie's. "I figured Sara would've asked you by now."

He could feel his face getting hot, his lips fumbling on his words. God, now he was digging himself in an even deeper hole. "Well, we're not serious or anything."

Chris nodded, contemplative for a moment. "If your Mom lets you out early on Friday, maybe you can stop by my place. We're gonna be over there playing cards and watching t.v."

And that was it, as good an apology as anything. Maybe Chris wasn't as mad as he'd thought he'd been, and maybe he wasn't either. Fighting over this stuff just seemed unimportant now.

"I'll try," he said.

Chris nodded, apparently pleased with that answer. Things weren't all together well just yet, but at least they were on speaking terms.

Gordie smiled and ate with a new fervor, suddenly hungry for the rubbery meatloaf on his tray. Never mind the fact that he actually _was_ going to the Sadie Hawkins dance on Friday night. He'd deal with that hurdle when he came to it. At least things were cool between he and Chris and that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

"So, you're not going to the dance with me tomorrow night, huh?"

Gordie closed his locker after his first class the next day, only to see Sara's angry face looming in front of him. Her skin was ashen. "Wait, what?" he feigned innocence. Shit, now he was in for it.

"This girl in my Math class overheard you saying in the cafeteria yesterday that you weren't going to the dance with me at all, that you had some house work to do," Sara stormed. "I was telling a few girls in my class that I was going and everything…now I look like a liar! What gives?" Sara's eyes were filled with hurt and disappointment, and Gordie knew he had to come clean.

"Look, I was only telling my friends that so they wouldn't get mad at me," he explained quietly. "I've been ditching them lately to go hang out with you and Chris has been really pissed off about it. I just didn't want to make them mad anymore. I'm still going to the dance with you, don't worry."

Sara's expression never wavered. "What, so you're ashamed of me or something? I've been noticing every time we're in the hallways together, you always distance yourself from me whenever you see your friends."

"No, not at all," he said quickly. "I really want to go to the dance with you…will you still go with me?" He waited for her answer, watching her cross her arms over her barely-there chest, her head tilted away from him.

"Of course I want to go…I bought my dress and everything. I thought _you_ were the one that didn't want to go."

"No, I definitely want to go," he reassured.

She shook her head. "I'll see you at 8 tomorrow night then." And with that, she stalked off, leaving behind her scent of vanilla musk. She didn't even kiss him good-bye like she usually did and Gordie could tell she was still mad at him.

He felt stupid all of a sudden…he shouldn't have lied in the first place. Now Sara thought he was ashamed of her and she shouldn't have to think that. Picking up his backpack from the floor, Gordie set off to his next class, a scowl etched on his face.

_'Damn, junior high isn't easy.'_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took so long, everyone! I wanted to make it a bit longer and I wanted everything to be just right. I have 2-3 more chapters left, so we're nearing the end of the story. Hope everyone enjoys it:)**

**Chapter 12**

Gordie was shocked to see the reflection staring back at him the mirror. Dressed in a black suit that was freshly pressed, his sandy brown hair combed neatly to the side, Gordie thought he looked...well, manly. He was wearing Denny's old suit that he'd worn to his junior high dance, and although it was a little loose fitting, it still looked nice on him.

"Oh my". He heard his mother gasp at the bedroom door way and he quickly straightened himself out, pretending like he hadn't just been checking himself out in the mirror for the last fifteen minutes. "Gordie, you look so handsome!" She entered the room, a soft and subdued expression on her face.

"Thanks," he replied, blush rising to his cheeks.

She sat at the edge of his bed, never taking her eyes off of her son. "You know, I knew that suit would look good on you…I just knew I had to go searching for it in the attic." She finally turned her head, gazing out the window forlornly. "I remember buying that suit for your brother," she went on. "God, he hated wearing it. Well, that was, until his girlfriend at the time, Elaine, gushed over how good he looked." She chuckled a little at the memory.

"You know," she continued softly, "I don't think I'll ever stop missing Denny…you look so much like him right now that it hurts." She sniffed, and Gordie knew she was trying to keep the tears from raining down. One tear was brave enough to escape and it settled on the bridge of her nose. "Oh god, I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping it away. "I don't want to ruin your night, Gordie…I want you to have a good time."

He stared at his mother, suddenly feeling sorry for her. Seeing her so fragile and lost made him understand what she was going through, what she has been going through for the last few months. Maybe what he thought was hatred towards him, was actually just sadness. Sad because he reminded her so much of Denny, the son she'd hoped would do so much with his life. Sad because she could never have those memories back.

"It's alright, Mom," he assured her. "I'm going to have a great time." He even smiled for her benefit.

She stood up and enveloped him in her arms, running a hand through his freshly shampooed hair. "Yes, you will," was all she said, kissing him softly on his forehead before leaving the room.

---

"So, I'm picking you up at 10:30, is that right?"

"Yup, 10:30."

Gordie gazed out the car window, staring at the trees whiz by in a blur as his Dad's Ford Sedan soared down Baker Street. He never knew what to talk about during rides with his father, and they usually ended up making awkward chitchat about school. Tonight, however, he was even too nervous for that, his mind addled with the thoughts of his first junior high dance.

His dad cleared his throat, and glanced over at him when they stopped at a red light. "You look real sharp, son," he muttered and quickly looked back at the road.

Gordie was taken aback by his father's compliment, knowing they were few and far between. "Thanks, Dad," he said, unable to keep the pride out of his voice.

Mr. La Chance nodded, as good a 'You're welcome' as Gordie was ever going to get. They turned down Stanley Court, a suburb in Westchester that was probably the most posh area in Castle Rock. The lawns looked a little more kempt, the houses more ornately decorated than the ones where Gordie lived. He suddenly felt embarrassed pulling up to Sara's house in his Dad's clunker of a car; all the times he'd gone to Sara's had been by foot, so her parents were none the wiser that he came from a lower middle-class home.

"You go on in," his Dad said. "I'm going to wait here."

He nodded, suddenly feeling ill. His arms felt like jelly as he attempted to open the door and the hand that clutched Sara's white corsage was sweaty. As he walked up her driveway, feeling like he was marching to his own execution, he wondered if she was still mad at him. He rapped on her door timidly, letting out his caged breath in one anxious exhale.

He could hear Sara's mother calling out to her from somewhere in the house, then the sound of heels slapping on hardwood floor approaching the foyer. Mrs. Wittenberg poked her coifed blonde head out the door and exclaimed, "Gordie, come on in!" She allowed him room to squeeze by, being careful not to let the family's Persian cat Minky escape. "Boy, you look handsome tonight!" she gushed. "Sara's going to be so happy to see you all dressed up. Sara, you date is here!" Mrs. Wittenberg nudged Gordie on the shoulder and smiled at him. "Go on in the kitchen…her sister's putting the last finishing touches on her hair."

Gordie felt relieved. One minute spent with Mrs. Wittenberg always drained him—he could definitely see where Sara got her chatterbox personality. She reminded him of those Southern women who spent all their time sitting on their expansive porches, drinking mint juleps and dishing out the latest gossip with the ladies from the country club. Except, Mrs. Wittenberg wasn't Southern, nor did she belong to any country club that he knew of…she was just a plain busybody who had money.

He peeked in to the kitchen and was astounded to see Sara dressed in a long taffeta gown that was the color of butter cream, wearing off-white pumps to match. She was actually wearing make-up too, something she rarely did. Her older sister Elizabeth was brushing her hair back in to a bun, a bobby pin wedged in between her teeth.

"God, Sara, stop moving!" Elizabeth grumbled, although it sounded more like 'Gush, Shara, sthop movin'!" with the pin in her mouth. She finally took the clip out of her mouth and pinned it in to the center of the bun, holding it firmly in place. "Done! I would've been finished a lot sooner if you weren't so squirmy."

Sara rolled her eyes and finally looked at Gordie. "Wow, Gordie, you clean up nicely!" she said appreciatively. "You look real put together for someone who didn't even want to go with me yesterday."

His cheeks burned hotly as he mumbled, "That's not true." God, was she going to keep reminding him of what a jerk he'd been?

Sara laughed and came up to him, giving him a hug. "I'm just kidding…I'm over it, really. No, seriously, you look really nice, Gordie."

"You do too," he said shyly. "Oh, I've got your corsage."

She puffed out her chest, making him blush even more as he tried to keep his eyes off the pale breasts that were visible at the top of her bodice. "I'm ready for you, Gordie," she teased. He brought the corsage to her dress, being careful not to poke her with the sharp point as he fumbled with it.

"Man, this is harder than it looks!" he chuckled nervously. Finally, he got it in without any injury, and then fastened it shut.

"Aw, and you didn't even make me bleed!" she chirped with a grin. "Very nice!" He finally smiled, relaxing. This night wasn't going to be so bad. "Ok, Mom, I'm getting on out of here! Gordie's dad is waiting!" she called in to the living room.

"You're not staying for some cake and tea, honey?" her Mom replied, her voice laced with disappointment. "I thought we were going to have a little dessert and chat before the dance?"

"Mom, chatting in your world means talking a mile a minute and not letting us get a word in edgewise," she said dryly, shooting Gordie a wink. "Maybe after the dance we can do something."

"Well, ok," Mrs. Wittenberg obliged. "But I expect you back here at 10:45 sharp…you've got dance lessons early tomorrow morning."

"Don't remind me," Sara muttered. "Ok, night, Mom!"

"Goodnight, Mrs. Wittenberg," he said with a wave, and followed Sara outside. He leaned over and whispered, "I didn't know you danced."

"It's more my Mom's thing than mine…I just do it to keep her happy," she explained with a shrug. "Why, are you afraid I might look better than you at the dance?" she teased.

He gave her a playful push, deadpanning, "I know you'll look better than me…I can't dance for shit."

---

"Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly, lolly".

Vern sang under his breath, something he had a habit of doing whenever he had to walk the dark streets of Castle Rock alone. He couldn't wait to get to Teddy's house. Every little sound, from the chirp of a cricket in the thicket of trees surrounding him to the crunching of tires over pavement, made him sing even louder. He kept picturing Ace's car barreling behind him, ready to run him off the road. Thank god Gordie decided to stay home tonight as well, or he was sure to be killed. Now he wouldn't have to tell anybody about what he'd heard Eyeball and Billy talking about.

"Sweeter than candy on a stick…huckleberry, cherry, or lime," he crooned, his voice growing hoarse from repeating the lyrics for about the tenth time. Man, he could really go for some candy right about now. He saw Teddy's house looming at the corner, swathed in a golden hue that illuminated from the porch light, and he breathed a sigh of relief, jogging up to the door.

Teddy's mother answered the door on the second knock, still dressed in the blue plaid uniform she wore at the diner.

"Hello, Mrs. Du Champ, is Teddy here?" he greeted politely.

She squinted at him from behind her cat-eye glasses, her crinkles deepening. "Is that you, Vern Tessio? I didn't know Theodore was expecting you."

"Mom, for the last time, it's not Theodore," groaned Teddy as he came thumping down the stairway behind her, his dog tag jingling. "And I told you the other day I was going to Chris' house tonight, remember?"

Mrs. Du Champ frowned. "Well, no, but I don't remember much of anything you tell me. I'm so damned busy nowadays, it's a wonder I can remember my own name." She leaned over, giving Teddy a kiss on the cheek, which he promptly wiped away with the back of his hand. "Try to come back before the sun comes up, eh?" she admonished him.

"I'll try," Teddy said with a smile, giving her a little wave before setting off with Vern. "I heard you singing 'Lollipop' all the way down the road, Vern-o".

"I can't help it!" Vern whined. "Do you know how many noises I heard in those woods…do you? This is a dangerous time we're living in!"

Teddy merely rolled his eyes. "Yup, I'm sure those owls are deadly". Vern blushed, knowing Teddy was right, as usual. They began shooting the breeze about comics and t.v, trying to fill in the deafening silence that came with a rural town at nighttime. By the time they'd decided that The Flash could definitely take down Superman, the La Chance residence had come in to full view.

"Hey, let's go see if Gordie is done cleaning…maybe he wants to come over Chris' house too," Vern suggested.

"All right, but you're taking the blame if his Mom rags on us for being there so late," Teddy obliged.

"But I did that last time!" protested Vern. "How come it's always me that has to take the blame?"

"Vern, just accept it," Teddy said. "It'll always be you."

Vern shook his head. "I hate you, Teddy."

"I love you too, Vern-o," Teddy proclaimed with a grin. "Come on, stop being such a pansy and knock on the door!"

Vern did so, his knuckles rapping as quietly as possible to avoid annoying Mr. La Chance. They could hear I Love Lucy blaring from the television through the open window, and Teddy was sure they couldn't hear them after the third knock.

"I think they're sleeping," Teddy said. "Come on, let's go…maybe you can climb up the tree near Gordie's window or something."

"Oh sure, send me up there! Let's pick on the fat kid again!" squawked Vern. "I'm sick of"-

"Can I help you boys?"

They both swiveled around, scared by the voice that rang out behind them. It was only Mrs. La Chance standing on the porch, clothed in her pale, pink nightgown.

"Oh…we were just wondering if Gordie was home," Vern replied nervously. Shit, he was surely done for now.

Mrs. La Chance shook her head. "No, Gordie's at the dance up at the school tonight. His father dropped him off a little while ago."

Vern paled and felt his stomach drop to his knees. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," he muttered frantically. He'd thought that Gordie would be in the clear, safe at home and away from Ace and his knife.

"That little liar," Teddy breathed, an amused smile on his face. "Ok, thank you anyway, Mrs. La Chance!" he called out. Mrs. La Chance nodded and promised she'd tell Gordie they'd been looking for him.

"God, that little shit," Teddy laughed once Mrs. La Chance had gone inside. "I knew that cleaning excuse had to be bull…how often does Gordie clean any way?" He turned his head, realizing Vern wasn't laughing along with him. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"We have to go to Chris' house…now!" Vern sputtered.

"What…why?"

"Look, I heard my brother and Eyeball talking about how Ace was gonna be looking for us at the dance and how he's really pissed. I"-

Teddy looked confused for a moment, but his eyes suddenly sparked to life at the realization of what he'd just heard. "Why didn't you say something before, Vern?!" he practically yelled.

"I didn't think Gordie was going! How was I supposed to know he was lying?"

Teddy kicked at the ground, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Shit, come on, let's go!" They both took off in to the night towards Chris' house, unprepared for what was about to come. All they knew was they had to do something before it was too late.


	13. Chapter 13

****

**Author's note:** Sorry for the delay, guys! I was pretty busy this past week. I hope you like the chapter! I gave a little shout-out in my own way to GoofyKat in this chapter, so I hope she enjoys it ;)

****

**Chapter 13**

"So, what do you think? I was on the dance committee and decorated it myself," Sara said proudly as they entered the Castle Rock Junior High cafeteria, arms linked together.

Gordie gazed around the cafeteria, taking in the orange and gold streamers hung haphazardly across the ceiling, some of them nearly falling in to the punch bowl at the snack table. A few bales of hay were scattered in the corners, and a large paper ball shaped like a full moon that hung from the ceiling completed the Autumn Harvest theme. The scent of stale hot dogs leftover from yesterday's lunch still lingered in the air, and Gordie couldn't help but wrinkle his nose.

"Umm, it looks…good," he offered, although he really wanted to say it looked like a cafeteria with some pieces of paper strewn about to cover up that fact.

"Thanks! We worked on it pretty hard," Sara said with a smile. She moved her arm downwards and grabbed his wrist. "So, what do you say, tiger…you ready to show me your dance skills?"

Gordie felt his mouth become dry at the thought of attempting to dance in front of all his classmates. "Well, I think I need some food in me first," he said, trying to keep the anxiety from creeping in to his voice. "I didn't eat anything since lunch."

"Alright, how about you grab us some punch and stuff while I chat with my friends?" she suggested.

"Ok," he agreed. He watched her go over to three of her friends from the school committee; all of them gasped at her dress, demanding she do a little twirl for them to show it off.

Gordie sighed and headed to the snack table, eyeing the selection of goodies the school had provided. Some stale chocolate chip cookies, brownies that looked like they'd been in the oven too long, and a few bowls of greasy potato chips and pretzels…nothing looked all that appetizing. He begrudgingly settled on a brownie (it looked the least offensive) and ladled out two cups of fruit punch, hoping he didn't spill any and make himself look stupid.

'Not like I don't look stupid any way,' he thought, slumping against the wall. Everyone else was dancing to the records Mr. Brown, the school superintendent, was playing; even he looked bored as he perched lazily in a fold-up chair, occasionally flipping on a new record once he sensed the crowd was getting tired of the same old sound.

Gordie wondered what the guys were doing tonight. He imagined they were all sprawled out on Chris' living room floor, Vern and Teddy fighting over which program to watch while Chris told them both to shut the hell up, that they were gonna wake his Mom up if they yelled any louder.

'Sounds more fun than this,' he thought, biting in to his brownie. 'Ugh…burnt to a crisp'. He looked around but didn't see a trash can nearby, so when no one was looking, he tossed it under the table, hoping no one would see it.

Suddenly the music stopped and Mr. Brown grabbed his microphone. "Ok, all you cool cats and kittens," he drawled in an attempt to sound hip, "here's the latest hit from The Skyliners. Gentleman, hold your gals tight for this one!"

The needle scratched and hissed as it started up, then the opening notes to 'Since I Don't Have You' crackled to life. Sara pushed her way through the crowd of slow dancers and once she saw Gordie leaning against the wall, she clutched on to his hand and pulled him in to the center of the dance floor.

"There you are! Oh my god, I love the Skyliners!" she gushed. "Come on, Gordie, show me what you're made of!"

"Sara, I don't know," he protested, but it was too late. She already had him in the middle of everyone, her hand resting on his back as she guided him through the movements.

"Ok…I'll lead," she said with a smile. Her legs began to rock, and gradually he eased in with her, still feeling excruciatingly embarrassed.

"Hey, you're not so bad!" she noted and rested her head on his shoulder gently. He could smell the strawberry-scented shampoo she used lingering in her hair and he inhaled it, pulling her closer to his body. She sighed and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

"I'm really glad you went with me," she said softly.

"Yeah…me too," he agreed, and meant it. Once he'd gotten over his initial nerves, the dancing wasn't so bad. No one had made fun of his awkward, stiff dancing yet…even Sara had said he wasn't so bad.

'Let's hope this night stays as good as this,' he silently prayed to himself.

----

"Chris! Chris, open up!" Teddy yelled, pounding on Chris' bedroom door. Vern and Teddy could hear Chris' angry grumble a few minutes later as he shuffled up to the door, then the sound of his lock unfastening.

"What the fuck… is it 8 already?" he said groggily, his hair sticking up like he'd just rolled out of bed. "Why are you guys knocking on my door so loud? I was napping, for Christ's sake!"

"Just throw on some pants, Chris," Vern hushed. "All we can say is Gordie's in a lot of trouble!"

Chris' beady green eyes widened. "Huh? Oh shit, what did his old man do now?"

"Not his old man this time!" Teddy interjected impatiently. "Come on, we don't have any time to talk about it…get some pants on, we're going to the school!"

"The school?" Chris echoed, more confused than ever. Why would Gordie be up at the school? Wasn't the dance going on tonight?

Suddenly it hit him. Gordie must've been at the dance, which meant he'd lied to him about staying home to clean. 'Man, he must really not want to hang out with me anymore,' he thought bitterly.

"What…is his girlfriend fighting with him or something?" Chris asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. "Look, I don't care…I'm going back to bed. I guess you guys can help him out or whatever."

"No, it's Ace!" Vern gushed. "Chris, the word from my brother and Eyeball is Ace is going up to the school tonight to get us real good…except we're not there, but Gordie is and"-

"What Vern means is Gordie is fucked," Teddy interrupted. "We've got to warn him, Chris!"

Chris paused, leaning against the doorway, running a hand through his hair. This was all so crazy. Still, Ace was a mean fucker and he knew what he was capable of. And despite his anger at his best friend, he couldn't let him be thrown to the wolves like that.

"Go outside," he ordered, looking up at his friends after a moment of contemplation. "I'm gonna throw on some pants…whatever you do, don't let my Mother see you going out!"

"Ok," Vern said with a nod. They both took off down the stairs, and Chris sighed, stepping back in to his room. He searched through the piles of clothes on his floor, suddenly spying a pair of jeans rolled up in a ball underneath some nicotine-stained tee shirts. His feet slipped in to some sneakers, and before he could rush outside to meet his friends, he carefully stuffed a few pillows underneath his blanket to give the illusion of a body sleeping innocently.

"God, Gordie, the things I'd do for you," he mumbled, shaking his head.

-----

Ace leaned over a pool table at Irby's Billiards across town, his stick carefully aimed at the ball that would be his next victim and once he'd slammed it and three others in to the holes, he straightened up, lighting a cigarette that he kept behind his ear.

"I win," he announced.

"Are you sure you don't want to play another game, Ace?" Eyeball suggested. Eyeball knew he was stalling for some time, hoping Ace would change his mind about going up to the school once he hit his third bottle of beer and got on a winning streak with the pool game. Chris had said he wasn't going to that damned dance, but there was a good chance he and his asshole friends would venture out any way since it was a Friday night. In a small town like this, Ace would sure to spot them.

"Another game?" Ace parroted, his teeth gleaming as he smiled in the dim lighting. "You like getting your ass beat, Chambers?" A few of the guys laughed at Ace's joke, but Billy Tessio merely shot a nervous glance at him, knowing exactly what was about to go down tonight. He cleared his throat.

"Hey, how about we go find those girls we met at the Lookout last night?" Billy suggested. "I think that chick Katy really liked you, Ace…I bet with a few beers, she'd be up for anything."

Ace paused, smoking his cigarette thoughtfully. "Yeah, she was pretty cute, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, definitely, Ace," Eyeball agreed. "You know, Billy's right…I bet those girls are up there right now. Maybe we should go find 'em?" He waited with baited breath, hoping Ace would be buzzed enough to chase some skirt rather than prey on his brother and his friends. Sure, if it was an innocent little beating, Eyeball might just let it happen…hell, he might've even held him down for Ace. But he knew when Ace was really angry enough to cause some serious damage, and seeing that his rage has been festering for the past few weeks, he knew that time was now.

"You know…that sounds like a really good idea," Ace finally said. Billy and Eyeball eyed each other over the group, both with the same bewildered expression. That was pretty easy; Ace usually wasn't one to go along with Eyeball's plans. "Since you were such a good sport about losing to me, I'm gonna let you take passenger tonight and I'll drive." He grinned, his mouth a bit lazy from too much alcohol. "Keys?"

"S-sure," he stammered, reaching in to his pocket and throwing them to Ace. He still felt a bit shaky, but was ultimately relieved that he'd delayed Ace's fury for another night. This was getting a bit tiring.

"Ok, folks, in to the car!" Ace called jovially. The boys hooted, ready to meet some girls and hopefully get lucky. Vince, Eyeball, Billy, John, Charlie and Ace all hopped in to the car waiting in the parking lot.

Ace put the key in the ignition and fired it up, backing out with ease. "Gentleman, your driver for the night will be Mr. Ace Merrill," he announced. "Let's hope none of you fuckers get killed tonight on account of my driving skills."

They all laughed, settling in to their seats. Eyeball looked back at Billy, giving him a small smile, to which Billy replied with a thumb up. Vince and Charlie began discussing which of the chicks they wanted to nail, and Eyeball listened half-heartedly for a little bit, not really giving two shits about the girls—he was just glad they were there as a distraction.

Ace carefully took a turn off the main road, veering on to Castle Rock Road, which was in the opposite direction of the Lookout Point.

"Hey, Ace, didn't you mean to go that way?" Eyeball said in confusion, jabbing his finger in a westerly direction.

Ace was eerily silent and kept driving, ignoring the probing stares of his cronies.

"Ace?" he repeated.

"You must think I'm fucking stupid, Chambers." Ace's voice was quiet, barely audible above the sounds of the tires careening over the road. "You think I'd really forget about those kids?" He reached over and patted his pocket. "Got my lucky knife with me for tonight," he announced proudly.

Eyeball was stunned. Ace was fucking crazy! He couldn't believe this was actually happening…he was actually going to fucking kill 'em!

The junior high loomed in to sight, the music pumping out from the cafeteria windows on par with Eyeball's frenzied heartbeat. He pulled in to a far corner behind the school and cut the engine; the car was silent, everyone but Ace unsure of what to do.

"Ace, come on, man," Billy nervously piped up from the back. "This is taking it too far."

"Ok, you've got a point," Ace agreed. "And you'll see my point once I stab you if you keep flapping your mouth, Tessio. You feel like joining your fat brother six feet under, that's your choice." Billy shut his mouth, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his switchblade. He knew Ace was crazy enough to do it too.

"Ace, they ain't here," Eyeball tried to reassure him in his calmest, most non-threatening voice. Maybe he could make Ace see reason. "Look, my brother ain't gonna hang around no dance."

Ace leaned back in his seat, the leather squeaking against his weight. "Well, I guess that's for me to find out. We're gonna be waiting a little while, gentlemen…I hope you're comfortable!" He laughed and lit another cigarette, putting one arm behind his head like he was resting up before a big night of bloodshed.

"Fuck," Eyeball muttered under his breath. There wasn't any getting out of this one. If he ran, he knew Ace was get out and knife him on the spot and still go after his brother alone if he had to. If he stayed, his brother still got knifed in front of his own eyes.

Either way, those kids were in for some serious shit tonight.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry this chapter took so long, guys! I know how frustrating it is when writers don't update frequently, so I hate to do it to my readers. I just started my first semester at a new college, so I've been writing a lot of papers (hence, the lack of motivation I have to write this story). Alas, I managed to churn this out. Anyway, there will be one more chapter and an epilogue after this (which will be combined in to one posting). I hope you all enjoy it!

**Chapter 14**

After about an hour of dancing, Gordie felt like he was about to suffocate in the stuffy air laced with sweat and stale hot dogs. Sara's dress was soaked with perspiration all across her back, so when Mr. Brown was changing records, he leaned over and said, "It's getting hot in here! Mind if I step outside for a little bit?"

"Not at all! I'll join you!"

They weaved through crowd, ignoring the suggestive winks and stares from their classmates, who undoubtedly thought they were going in to the dark parking lot for a little make-out time.

"Gordie, you getting lucky tonight?" hollered Steve Jenkins, the school's star football player and biggest moron.

"About as lucky as your game last night…which wasn't all that good!" he muttered, pushing his way outside. The air was like a bucket of ice water being thrown on his face, and he pumped his shirt collar to let the breeze refresh his sweaty chest.

"It's so nice out here," Sara commented. Suddenly, she looked over at him slyly, giving him her impish smile that implied she was up to no good. "Hey, Gordie?" she said in a singsong voice.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go take a walk in to the woods for a little while," she suggested.

His heart pattered with excitement; he knew going in those woods could only mean one thing. Holding her hand, they'd walk together until they came to a rest. Noises creeping through the darkness would scare her and she'd reach for him; her lips would kiss him all over and he imagined those hands touching places they'd never gone before.

He pants grew tighter at the thought.

_"Gordie, make sure you kiss the girl for a bit before you make any other moves…you don't want her to think you're a pig only out for one thing. I mean, you are, but she doesn't have to know it!"_ He smiled as Chris' words from sixth grade echoed in his mind; they'd spent one spring day up in the tree house alone, bored and nothing to talk about except girls. He'd known Chris hadn't gone further than first base with Pamela Stretmeyer and that had been on a dare, but it didn't stop him from making sure Gordie didn't mess up any way.

'Now that I actually have a girl, he's pissed off at me,' he thought sadly. Gordie wondered why life had to change like that. Just a year ago, they were sitting side by side in the tree house, talking about girls and the best technique to unhook a bra ("Is it a clasp or hooks? Because my brother Eyeball says it's a world of difference!"), and now they were going on separate paths. He now had a girlfriend and the others didn't.

"You sure seem quiet tonight."

Gordie looked over at Sara, glad she couldn't see the expression on his face because it was so dark. He was silent for a moment, mulling over what to say, but Sara did the talking for him.

"I had a really great time tonight…it was nice to see you dance, at least."

"Yeah…I don't do that too much, so consider yourself lucky," he teased. She laughed and cupped his hand even tighter. They walked for a little bit through the woods, a pale sliver of moonlight cutting through the treetops was the only guide they had. Gordie spied a hole that was haphazardly covered with leaves (sometimes the high school kids liked to have bonfires after their sports games), so he gently led her away from it, telling her to be careful.

"Aww, such a gentleman," she said with a smile. "Ugh, let's stop here…it's kind of hard walking in these shoes," Sara complained. Gordie pulled a log out from the brush so they could sit and Sara gratefully took off her heels, her toes flexing and stretching as she aired them out.

"Oh, much better!" she exclaimed. They perched in an easy silence for a moment, listening to the noises of the woods at nighttime. Owls and crickets battled each other with their loud cries, and in the distance the howl of a wild dog pierced through the velvet blackness.

"God, I didn't realize it was such a zoo back here," Sara commented with a shiver.

"Yeah, there's a lot of animals in these woods," he said, thinking back to his search for Ray Brower a month earlier. The screech of coyotes had kept Vern awake most of the night; Gordie reckoned they sounded like restless spirits. "It's ok, though," he reassured her. "They won't hurt you if you don't provoke them."

Sara nodded, pulling her shawl close against her arms and chest.

'This is your chance, man…take it!' He cleared his throat and put his arm around her, rubbing the fabric covering her goose-pimpled arm.

She looked up and smiled wryly at him. "You're so smooth, Gordie."

He blushed and laughed nervously. "Yeah, I've been waiting to do that all night," he admitted. She shook her head and giggled.

"Well, I don't mind," she commented softly, tilting her head up to brush her lips against his. For just that moment, the beasts wandering about in the woods didn't bother her as much as it did before.

---

"That was him, I swear it was! That was Gordie La Chance!" Vince piped up excitedly from the back seat, the flow of whiskey in his veins making him more loud than usual. "I don't know who that fucking girl was, though."

Ace peered in to the woods, hoping he could catch another glimpse of them but they were long gone. He figured the kid could be any one of 'em inside that school, any other young boy just looking to get a cheap feel from his girl. Was it a risk he was willing to take to go in there and find out?

"That better be Gordie, Vince, or I'll be mighty pissed you sent me out there."

"I _know_ it's him…I know that pansy ass walk any where!" Vince argued.

"Alright, let's go," Ace announced, carefully easing himself out of the car. The others followed suit. Eyeball felt his stomach tighten as they headed towards the woods. All he could hope for was that Chris wasn't in there. Please, don't let that fucker be in there.

---

Meanwhile, Chris, Vern, and Teddy had just arrived at the school; their eyes surveyed the cafeteria frantically for any sign of Gordie.

"Hey, Chris, what's new?" Sam Barber called out when he saw his fellow woodshop classmate lurking in the crowd.

"Sam, have you seen Gordie La Chance?" Chris was really getting worried now because Gordie wasn't anywhere to be seen—not on the dance floor, nor leaning against the wall.

"Umm, I think I saw him go outside with his date…maybe he's in the woods?"

"Ok, thanks…gotta run!" Before Sam could say anything else, Chris disappeared in to the crowd, grabbing on to Vern and Teddy on the way out.

"He's in the woods?!" Teddy exclaimed as they burst outside. "Fuck, they could've gotten to him by now!"

"I know," Chris said grimly. "Come on…we've gotta find him before anything happens!"

---

Gordie was so wrapped up in kissing Sara that he didn't hear the slap of boots against dirt, and by the time he pulled himself off of her to look around, a pair of hands grabbed him roughly from behind.

"What the fuck," he muttered, his fists flying instinctively, ready to pummel whoever had a hold of him. Sara was yelling, but he couldn't make out any words. All he could hear in his brain was, 'Shit, shit, shit…what the fuck is going on?'

"Looks like I was right, Ace! It is the La Chance kid!"

Gordie realized with great horror that Vince Desjardins was the one that had him by the scruff of his neck. Ace and the rest of his gang appeared from the darkness, stumbling out from the brush.

"Shit…shit…let me go!" Gordie yelled, thrashing around wildly.

"Yeah, let him go," Ace instructed. "I can handle it from here." He stepped forward, his switchblade already out. When his eyes settled upon Sara, his mouth dropped open, sending his cigarette to the ground. "What the fuck are you doing with this kid?" he demanded. Ace turned to his friends. "This is my fucking _cousin_ and she's with this shit…would you believe it?"

"He's my date," Sara said pointedly. She pushed herself between Gordie and Ace, her eyes sparkling furiously. "Seriously, leave him alone, Ace…he didn't do anything to you!"

Ace let out a quiet chuckle and said, "Oh, really? Look, I suggest you head on out of here, ok? You don't need to get in the middle of this." The tone he carried was calm, but Gordie knew better…he could hear the veiled threat laced in his voice.

"I'm not leaving," she said between clenched teeth.

"Then I'll knife him in front of you," Ace said nonchalantly. "No skin off my nose." He inched forward, the blade glinting like the stars above.

For the first time in his life, Gordie was scared enough to shit his pants. Not even the sight of Ray Brower's body had instilled in him this sort of fear. It was one thing to see something that had already been dead, but another to be in the face of death yourself.

Before Gordie could bolt, Ace lunged and pinned him to the ground, locking his legs around his body so he couldn't move. Gordie's face was pressed down so tightly that he could feel the dirt clogging his nostrils; he coughed and sputtered, trying to shimmy his way out.

'I'm going to die,' was all he thought as he was shoved even harder, suffocating with every labored breath.

---

Chris, Vern, and Teddy could hear the commotion in the distance, the echo of a girl's cries in the night. Vern plowed ahead, actually in the lead for once, and he somehow managed to avoid a hole that had leaves piled on top.

Before he could turn around to warn his friends of the ditch, Teddy barreled past him and right in to it, his body smacking down on hard dirt and remnants of firewood. Curses spewed from his mouth.

Vern peered down; Teddy was sprawled out, leaves sticking to his hair, glasses askew. Vern's mouth hung open, his lip quivering a little as he tried not to laugh. "I got you back! I didn't mean to, but I did! I got you back!" he sputtered, pointing at Teddy.

"Now's not the time!" Teddy screamed. "Now, help me up!"

Vern and Chris lowered their arms down, allowing Teddy to be pulled up (he nearly came crashing down again since Vern had no upper body strength, but Chris managed to lift him up). Teddy pushed Vern, nearly sending him to the ground, but Chris stepped in and yelled, "Alright, stop it! Come on, let's go!"

They ran towards the direction of the voices, not really knowing who or what was ahead of them, only hoping Gordie wasn't in any danger. Chris could feel bile rising in his throat; adrenaline pumped through his veins steadily.

Suddenly, as they came to a clearing, a group of silohuettes became sharper. Upon closer inspection, he could make out the back of Ace's platinum blonde head as he overpowered Gordie, forcing him down in to the dirt. A knife gleamed in the darkness, pressed close to the back of Gordie's neck.

"Get off of him!" Chris screamed, and before he could even think, he lunged forward and landed on top of Ace, pummeling him with balled up fists. Ace cursed as his head was beaten, but with one swift kick of his leg, he managed to roll himself off of Gordie and on to Chris.

"You fucking asshole!" Ace bellowed. "Now you're in for it." He swung his fist out, knocking Chris straight to the ground in one punch.

"Ace, come on…don't hurt him!" Eyeball pleaded from the sidelines. "Come on, man, that's my little brother!" Suddenly, Eyeball wasn't the tough guy any more.

Chris lay on the ground, disorientated from the punch. His cheek, bruised like rotten fruit, was starting to swell. Groaning, he rolled over and tried to get back in a sitting position. As he was crouching, something slipped out of his jeans pocket and on to the ground.

'What the hell?' he thought as he palmed it. It was the knife he'd put in to his pocket on the first day of school. He'd never washed those damned jeans and suddenly he was grateful for that.

Ace barked out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, Eyeball? You're getting all tough on me now? You telling me who I can't kick the shit out of?" As if to prove his point, Ace kicked his leg out, nailing Gordie hard in the ribs. Gordie yelped out, tears springing to his eyes immediately as he rolled on the ground in pain.

"Oh fuck!" he cried. His cries were met with another kick, this time an even harder blow. Sara screamed, but was quickly silenced as Vince held her back, muffling her mouth with his beefy forearm.

"Stop that….now!" Chris demanded, trying to keep his voice strong and forceful.

"Or what, Chambers?" Ace challenged. "You gonna beat me up?" He shook his head and laughed, then proceeded to kick Gordie again.

"You're gonna hurt him…stop!" Teddy screamed, but he too was squelched by one of Ace's cronies. Ace laughed and kept kicking over and over again. Gordie howled and cried, not caring if he looked like a sissy any more.

Chris sat up, eyes focused on Ace. He felt the knife in his hand, felt every ridge of it. He knew what he had to do.

Just as Ace was about to deliver another kick to Gordie's sore ribs, Chris lunged forward, switchblade aimed at Ace's shoulder. Ace's head swiveled around in shock as he heard the commotion, but it was too late. The point of Chris's blade entered through the back, sending little rivulets of blood to cascade down his tee shirt. Ace let out a cry, a vulnerable noise that few had heard out of him.

"You little shit," he gasped as he stared at Chris, who held the bloody knife in his clutched hand.

The next few moments played out in slow motion. Gordie watched in horror as Ace suddenly flipped his own knife out, plunging it deep in to the space between Chris's breastbone, dangerously close to his heart.

"Nooooooo!" Gordie screamed. He kept screaming as Chris dropped to the ground. Eyeball rushed to his brother and yelled, "Holy shit, holy fucking shit!" over and over again. He leaned over, inspecting him close. When there was no response from Chris, he swiveled his head back.

"Get some fucking help! Go!" he ordered. Vince and Charlie hesitated, looking frightened and not really sure who to listen to now. "Go, you fuckers…now!"

They took off in to the woods, heading towards the school. Teddy, Vern, and Sara rushed over to Chris, too stunned to do much else than stifle sobs and whispered obscenities. Ace took off, still bleeding from the back. With the less than perfect criminal record he had, Ace knew he was going to be locked in the clink for sure.

"Shit, man," was all Gordie could muster. Ribs throbbing, he closed his eyes and felt himself weaken. All he wanted to do was sleep and maybe it would all be better. Maybe he could pretend this was all a dream.

Gordie was still lying there in that position as the sirens grew louder and the sounds of police officers shouting pierced the night like wailing animals.


	15. Chapter 15

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologize for not updating this story in, wow, nearly 3 years. Life has been so hectic and, to be quite honest, I was discouraged with writing in general. I went to college, did a lot of work for the school's magazine as an Editor-in-Chief, and lost interest in writing due to the many assignments I had already. I also had other major life changes going on besides college. But, the encouraging feedback on my story, and the comments about wanting me to continue (and yes, I agree it's so bad of me to stop there! EEK!) really woke me up, so I decided to conclude the story. Granted, this is probably not the best ending I could've come up with, but I wanted closure for Chris and Gordie. This is the first time writing for fun that I've done in many years, so it did feel good to pump this out. I hope you all appreciate it, and THANK YOU for all the encouragement. Without you guys I probably never would've finished it, lol. Without further, ado, here's the end to NOT IF I SEE YOU FIRST:

Everything about the hospital reminded him of the night Denny died: the cracked, white walls stained with yellow; how the waiting room made him feel claustrophobic, surrounded by a constant flux of ailments, moans and cries. On the night of Denny's car wreck, a redheaded lady wearing curlers sat next to him, sobbing as she waved around a burnt finger, moaning about how she "should've known better than to pick up that damn scorchin' curler". And he'd felt like shaking her, wanted to scream that his brother had just gotten rammed by a drunk driver, that there were more serious problems than her blistered pinkie, so what the hell was she griping about? He felt that way now except there was no one to yell at, no bitching lady to take his frustrations out on. Teddy and Vern had left hours ago, their faces ashen and grim. It was already 2 AM and the cops had exhausted all their questions hours ago, leaving Gordie to sit between his parents, his legs twitching nervously.

"Do you want me to run home and grab a pair of pajamas for you, Gordie?" his mom offered quietly. "We might be here a while longer."

"No. I'm fine. I don't want to leave."

"We could always run home, get your stuff and come back...," Mr. LaChance trailed off. He was silenced by Gordie's curt nod and distant stare, and if were any other night, Gordie would've been floored that his father was willing to listen, willing to care. But all he had on his mind was Chris.

A grey-haired doctor with a bushy mustache veered around the corner, white coattails flying behind him. He stopped short by Gordie, nearly falling over himself.

"You Gordie LaChance?"

Gordie sprung up, heart pounding furiously, his stomach sick. 'Oh no, this is it. This is where the bad news comes.'

"Yeah, that's me."

"Your friend Chris asked for you. Told me you'd be the only one out here in a suit. He's waiting in room 105."

Gordie felt sick, the culmination of all his anxieties, and now relief, coming to a head from those words, but he managed to squeak: "I can go in there? He's really ok?"

The doctor smiled, the corners of his lips meeting the ends of his mustache. "He's really ok. Thankfully the surgeon was able to stitch up the wound. The knife missed any major arteries. Chris should consider himself a very lucky guy. Go on...go see him. He only has time for a five minute visit before the medication kicks in!"

Gordie's legs floated as he made his way to room 105. When he got inside, he was struck by how small Chris looked on that big white bed, enveloped in starchy white sheets, his face tiny and pale. Chris had always seemed so strong, but now his green eyes were vulnerable.

"Hey man," Gordie said shakily when Chris' eyes turned up to him.

"Hey, Gordie. Guess it's been a helluva night, huh?"

"You can say that again."

"Not really how I wanted to start my weekend," Chris joked.

"Yeah, well at least you lived to see it. Chris, you didn't have to take the knife for me."

Chris' eyes clouded over. "So I should've just let Ace kill you? Yeah right, Gordie, no way."

He reclined back against his pillow, his frown slackening from the onset of his painkillers. "Things have really changed a lot this year, haven't they?" he said softly.

"No," Gordie said firmly. "I'm still the same old Gordie, the kid with the too tight pants and the sissy voice. And you're the same old Chris, the beefy kid who's willing to take a knife for his friends. And the sissy kid's always gonna need those types around."

Chris laughed, although it pained him to do so; he winced and held on to his ribs. "Dammit Gordie, don't make me laugh again. So what happened to those Cobra assholes? I hope the fuzz got 'em."

"They took off like a bunch of pansies. Officer McDonough's gonna be showing up to your house soon to ask some questions."

"Cops at my house. What a shock. And how's Sara?"

"Don't know. The cops brought her home. She was crying hysterically when I left her." The thought of her tear-streaked face, rivulets of mascara falling down her smooth cheeks and neck, brought a pit of longing into his stomach.

"Gordie, Sara's a good girl. I want you to know that. I guess I was just pissed at her for taking you away from us. But if there's anyone I'd want you to have, it'd be her. She's smart. She's going places."

"Thanks, man," he said, a smile finally cracking his somber face.

"I need sleep, Gord," Chris said, his voice becoming weaker as he talked, his heavy eyelids shutting. "Just remember what I said. I'll always be there to take that knife for you. I'll see to that."

"Not if I see you first," Gordie whispered, but Chris was already sleeping, his lips slack and content.


End file.
